Red Blood, Black Rose
by Decadent Decay
Summary: Sakura Haruno is moving to a new town with a new school. Sadly, her parents are making her get a job as a maid in the Uchiha mansion. Too bad no one ever told her that the Uchihas are a family of vampires. SxS,NxH,NxT,IxS, OCxD,OCxOC T to be safe
1. Welcome to Konoha

**Yo!**

**Okie dokie this is a story I wrote for my friend Skye. It's her birthday and since I couldn't think of anything better I decided to dedicate this fic to her.**

**Happy Birthday onee-chan!**

**Disclaimer:**** I don't own Naruto. The only things in this fic that are mine are Keo and Salina. Skye belongs to the very person this story is dedicated to.**

**Enough with the chit chat! On with the Story!!!!!**

**Oh and here are the ages:**

**Sakura: 17**

**Sasuke: 18**

**TenTen: 18**

**Neji: 18**

**Ino: 17**

**Shikamaru: 17**

**Naruto: 18**

**Hinata: 17**

**Salina: 16**

**Skye: 17**

**Keo: 16**

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Sakura's POV:

"Sakura! Get down here now! It's time to leave!" Mom yelled from the foot of the stairs before stalking out the door towards the car.

I watched her get into the car from my bedroom window. I sighed and slung my backpack over one shoulder.

As I walked out of the room and descended the stairs slowly, I took in every single detail of the barren house. This would be the last time I would walk these halls.

Once in the car my dad looked at me through the mirror with a reassuring smile, "Don't worry Sakura, you'll love Konoha before you know it."

"Yeah moving to a new town my junior year and becoming a maid for a part time job is a dream come true," I muttered sarcastically. Nobody heard me.

After a long and grueling car ride the Haruno family pulled into a freshly paved driveway.

"Welcome home, everyone," My dad said.

I got out of the car and faced our new 'home'. It was a 2 story house that was a pale blue grey color. There was ivy growing up the side of the house and just looking around made me feel at peace.

The peace didn't last long as I was recruited to help move our bags and boxes inside while the movers carried the furniture.

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Two Days Later:

Over the weekend I was able to find out how to get to the school and get my schedule. Sadly, we moved here so late in the summer that I didn't have time to familiarize myself with the town. (Konoha isn't really that big)

Anyway, the second my alarm went off this morning I wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep. But, seeing as it was my first day of school here, I didn't want to be late.

So I dragged myself into the bathroom and took an extremely hot shower to wake myself up. When I was done, I dug through my recently unpacked closet to find something to wear. I threw on a black skirt that went to my knees and a blue t-shirt that had a white bird etched across the torso.

After I was dressed and ready I grabbed a poptart, picked up the keys to the car, and left.

As I walked through the main entrance of Konoha High I was immediately knocked to the ground.

"Ow," I sat up to see a girl about a year younger than me rubbing her forehead.

"Hehe, sorry, I didn't see you," She said, pulling me to my feet.

Now that I could get a good look at her, the girl was a few inches shorter than me and had dirty blonde hair that hung around her shoulders and covered her hazel eyes slightly. She was wearing a short jean skirt, black leggings, a grey t-shirt with a red rose in the corner, and a silver necklace with two rings on it. A brown messenger bag (backpack) lay at her feet.

"It's no problem, I'll be fine, I'm Sakura Haruno, by the way," I said, smiling to prove that I was ok.

"Salina Akiho," The girl grinned in return.

"Salina! I told you not to run off like that!" A girl the same age as me and a boy the same age as Salina came running up to us.

Salina scratched the back of her head, "You tell me a lot of things, it's just a matter of whether or not I decide to listen."

I watched the girl scold Salina briefly, finding it vaguely funny until the boy interrupted.

"Who's she?" He asked, pointing at me.

"Huh? Oh that's Sakura. Sakura, that's Keo and Skye," Salina said, smiling.

"Hi," Was all I could manage to say.

Luckily, it seemed good enough for them and they returned the greeting.

"So where are the others?" Salina asked, turning to Skye and Keo.

"They're waiting for us outside, now let's go," Skye said.

As they began to walk away, the three paused and looked back at me.

"Are you coming?" Skye asked me.

I hesitated for a moment before following them out the door.

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Sasuke's POV:

I stood outside the school with Naruto and the others. All except Keo, Skye, and Salina. It was nothing to worry about though, Salina probably just ran off somewhere like always.

Tuning back into the conversation, I heard Naruto rambling about something, only to be interrupted by Ino.

"Slow down Naruto! No one can understand you when you talk that fast!" She screeched.

Naruto took a deep breath and spoke again, "I said, there's a new maid coming to the house today and she never been to Konoha before."

TenTen gave him a questioning look, "So she doesn't know about you're being a fox demon or that Sasuke's-"

"That my entire family is composed of vampires? No, she doesn't. It's not like anybody outside of this group knows" I interrupted.

"That'll have an interesting turnout," Neji said, smirking lightly.

"I was thinking the same thing," I replied.

That was when we noticed Skye, Keo, and Salina walking towards them with a pink haired girl trailing beside them.

Salina was the first to reach us.

"Hey everyone! I'd like you to meet Sakura!" She said, motioning to the girl as she, Skye, and Keo caught up.

"Hi," Sakura replied meekly. She had pink hair, emerald eyes, and flawless skin that was probably as pale as Hinata's was.

"Hey Sakura, I'm TenTen," The brunette stood up to shake Sakura's hand.

"Hi," She said in return.

Naruto ran up to here grinning, "I'm Naruto! That's Hinata, Ino, Neji, Shikamaru, and over there is Sasuke teme," He said, pointing to everyone in order.

"Hi everybody," Sakura said, waving.

The others said hi but I remained silent.

"Sasuke, don't be rude, say hello to Sakura," Skye scolded, an amused grin on her face.

"Hn," I said, making it obvious that I didn't care.

Sakura walked up to me, her intoxicating scent flooding my nostrils.

"Nice to meet you to, Sasuke," She said, clearly mocking me.

I smirked, "You may want to watch that mouth of yours. It could get you in a lot of trouble."

As the bell rang and the others ran off to class I could hear her reply, "I'm not afraid of you."

She had her hands on her hips and I was smirking.

This would be an interesting year.

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**It's finally finished!!! It took me forever cuz my sister's laptop is broken again and she's been hogging the computer all weekend. So yeah, I hope you liked the first chapter! I'll update as soon as I can but I don't know when that'll be……**

**Anyway please send a review! Any comments will help!**

**Oh and happy birthday onee-chan!**

**spirit**

**P.S- If you want a few ok descriptions of Skye, Keo, and Salina go and check out the first chapter of ****Illusions of Heart****. They should be there.**


	2. Meet the Akatsuki

**I'm back! With another chapter of the story!!!!!**

**If you're wondering why it took me so long to update please take a look at my homepage, there is an explanation on there. **

**(Also my stupid internet isn't working right, I have a ton of homework, little time on the computer ,I'm still getting over 4 days of no time to myself, andd I've had little sleep all weekend.)**

**Anywho, I'll stop rambling and get on with the story. If I can actually type today, dammit.**

**Disclaimer:**** I don't own Naruto. Short, sweet, and to the point. (Keo and Salina are MINE)**

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Sakura's POV:

By the last class before lunchtime, I had figured out that at least one of my new friends were in each of my classes.

I also found out that they are all very weird.

Anyway, back to what was going on.

The bell had just rung and I had just reached my locker when TenTen, Ino, Hinata, Skye, and Salina showed up.

"Hi Sakura!" Salina chirped.

"Hey," I replied, more intent on digging my money out of my locker than coming up with a good response. "Where did the guys go?"

"Naruto's doesn't have the patience to wait for everyone to show up before eating," TenTen explained.

"It really doesn't make sense to me how Hinata can like him," Ino thought out loud.

That comment made Hinata turn red.

I looked up at the white eyed girl, "Is that true Hinata?"

She turned a darker shade of red and nodded, "H-Hai."

"Well I can't say that he's my type but if you like him I'm sure he can't be that bad," I smiled.

"Here they come again," Skye muttered, looking over her shoulder.

I shut my locker and looked in the same direction, "Who?"

"The Akatsuki," TenTen said carelessly.

"I repeat: who?"

"They're a group of seniors. Holding records in almost everything and on nearly every team we've got." Ino explained.

"Is there something wrong with them?" I asked, examining the sight.

There were four guys standing at the end of the hallway talking and exchanging playful blows.

(I'm doing the 4 that I know the most, I'll try to bring one or two of the others if I can; gomen!)

TenTen stood next to her and pointed each of them out, "The one with the blonde ponytail covering one eye is Deidara, the one with the mask is Tobi, the one with the black hair is Itachi, and the one with the blue face is Kisame."

"Also known as Gillface," Salina put in gleefully.

"Also known as Gillface," Skye repeated.

"Alright, but I still don't get why Skye said 'here they come again'," I continued.

"Itachi i-is Sasuke's o-older b-brother," Hinata answered.

"And they really don't like each other," Ino added.

"So it's pretty much a sibling rivalry?" I inquired.

"To put it bluntly, yes," TenTen said sounding reluctant.

That was when the guy apparently known as Tobi came up behind Salina, picked her up and began spinning around.

This of course caused the off guard girl to freak out.

"Dammit Tobi! Put me down! Can't you bug someone else?" She yelled.

Tobi stopped spinning but kept her a few inches above the ground, "Why would I do that?" He asked innocently.

As Salina kept complaining I turned to Skye who was laughing.

"Does this happen a lot?" I asked.

Skye calmed down enough to answer, "Yeah, you'd think that they were brother and sister or something."

That was when a thought occurred to me, "Shouldn't Keo and Salina-chan be freshman?"

Skye answered automatically, "They should be, but they each skipped a grade back in elementary school. Why do you ask?"

"Curiosity," I replied.

Just after I said that the other three Akatsuki guys walked over to us.

"Tobi, how many times do we have to tell you to not do that?" The blue-faced one said.

Clearly, he was annoyed by this whole thing.

"Fine," Tobi sighed and let Salina go and she immediately backed out of his reach.

"Took you long enough," She muttered.

The blonde guy pointed at me, "Who are you..yeah?"

"That's Sakura, she just moved here," Skye explained nonchalantly.

"The pleasure is ours I'm sure," Sasuke's brother said. His voice sent shivers up my spine and just the thought of him made my skin crawl.

Salina broke into the conversation, "Well I'm sorry to break up this lively introduction but we have to leave now."

"That's right; we've got people waiting for us!" TenTen grinned and led us to the cafeteria, leaving the Akatsuki behind.

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Sasuke's POV:

We were sitting in the cafeteria with our lunches for about ten minutes before the girls showed up.

Shikamaru was the first to say anything, "Finally, what to you so long? Troublesome women."

"Let's just say that Sakura met everyone's favorite group of seniors," Ino said, rolling her eyes.

"And leave it at that," Skye muttered.

Great, Sakura had met my brother, but does she know that we're related?

Salina seemed to read my mind, literally.

"Yes Sasuke, she does know that you're related," Her grin annoyed me.

"Mind your own business would you?" I growled.

"We will once you make everything less evident in your eyes," Skye retorted gleefully.

Damn, these girls get on my nerves.

Ino, TenTen, Naruto, and Keo were laughing. Sakura looked confused though.

Neji turned to her to explain, "Those two can be witches at times, literally."

"Thanks for the update Neji, but you're about six years too late," Salina replied.

You can only imagine how the rest of the day went.

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Sakura's POV:

The rest of the day went pretty smoothly. It was after school that I was worried about.

After all, getting a part time job as a maid isn't exactly something that happens every other day.

Anyway, when I finally found the right address, (Which wasn't very hard since it's one of the only houses on the street) I walked up to the door and someone answered before I could even knock.

The girl who opened the door was slim and pale. The dark clothing and emotionless face kind of gave her the look of a ghost.

Until she smiled, that is.

"Hello, I'm Kiriki Akasaka, you're Sakura right?"

I smiled faintly, "Uh yeah, that's me."

"Alright then, come with me, Mr. and Mrs. Uchiha are waiting for you."

Before I could give a response, Kiriki was walking away from me and up the stairs.

As I was following her up the staircase I heard the door close on its own.

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Normal POV:

Sakura trailed into a dimly lit room behind Kiriki.

There was a fireplace at the far side of the room with a couch, coffee table, and two overstuffed chairs arranged around it.

In one chair sat a man with onyx eyes and jet black hair and a beautiful woman sat in the other, talking animatedly.

Kiriki interrupted politely, "Pardon my interruption, but Sakura Haruno has arrived."

The woman stood facing them, a dazzling smile gracing her lips, "That's quite all right Kiriki, you may leave now."

The latter bowed obediently and proceeded down the hall and disappeared around the corner.

It was the man who spoke next, "Come Sakura, have a seat."

Sakura made her way over and she sat quietly on the red velvet couch.

"So, how do you like Konoha so far?" The woman asked sweetly.

Sakura replied easily, "It's great, I'm making new friends pretty easily, err-"

"Just call me Mikoto, over there is my husband Fugaku," the woman added.

"If that's what you want," Sakura said politely.

"Sakura, I have a question for you," Fugaku said, staring into the fire.

Sakura tensed slightly, "What is it?"

Fugaku transferred his view from the fire to Sakura, "How superstitious are you?"

The pink haired girl looked bewildered, "Superstitious, like black cats and werewolves?"

"Mostly, yes," He responded.

Sakura relaxed slightly, "I'm pretty much as into that sort of stuff as the next person you could say."

Fugaku gave her a warming smile, "Alright then, if that's all we'll have Kirimi show you what your job will entail."

As if on cue, a girl strangely similar to Kiriki walked into the room.

"You called?" the girl asked feebly.

Mikoto was the one to answer her, "Yes, could you please show Sakura where she'll be working and what she'll be doing for her job?"

"Hai, follow me then Sakura-chan," The girl bowed to Mr. and Mrs. Uchiha and walked promptly out the door with Sakura at her heels.

Kirimi led Sakura down several hallways and opened up a door leading to a bedroom.

"This is where you will change into your uniform," She said monotonously.

"What uniform? There isn't anything in here," The cherry blossom replied, looking around the room.

Kirimi pulled a classic black maid dress from a drawer and handed it to Sakura, "Here is your uniform, you will be working here mainly on weekdays and you will get paid on Fridays."

Sakura fingered the dress delicately before she spoke, "Will I actually be serving Mikoto-sama or Fugaku-san?"

Kirimi smiled knowingly, "I doubt it since you don't have prior experience but there is a very slight possibility that you may serve one of their sons."

Sakura was only half relieved.

"Is there anything else I need to know?"

"No, not right now, you'll learn everything tomorrow, you can go home if you'd like," The maid replied.

"Would anyone mind if I took a look around?" The pink haired girl inquired.

After all, there was no harm in exploring the place she'd be working at.

"As long as you go home before sunset I don't see a problem," Kirimi said.

Sakura nodded and the maid left to room.

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Sakura's POV

I was only wandering around for about five minutes before I heard footsteps from around the corner.

Sadly, I didn't have a chance to move before the two people collided with me.

"Well this is vaguely familiar," A girl's voice said.

I instantly recognized her as Salina.

"Whatever, I still won," This time it was a guy with a cocky tone.

Naruto

"You did not! It was a tie!" Salina argued back.

Apparently, they didn't know I was underneath them.

"Hello, right under you here," I said, smiling.

The two stopped bickering and looked at me, "Oh, Hi Sakura chan," they said in unison.

As we stood up I started interrogating them immediately, "What are you doing here?"

Naruto crossed his arms and said childishly, "I could ask you the same thing."

I put my hands on my hips and smirked, "I asked you first."

Salina intervened before Naruto could respond, "Naruto lives here and Mikoto loves me so I'm hanging around a lot of times."

Now I was confused, "But how do you know Mikoto and why does Naruto live here?"

"Naruto's an orphan adopted into this family and my parents knew the Uchihas," she continued.

"Yeah, it's kind of interesting being Sasuke's brother since we're best friends and all," Naruto rambled mainly to himself.

"Wait, you're Sasuke's brother?! And he's an Uchiha?!"

If I wasn't confused earlier, I was now.

"Yep, didn't we tell you that?" Salina asked me. I shook my head no.

"Well, he is, and Itachi is too," She grinned sheepishly.

"Good to know," I muttered.

That was when Naruto remembered something, "So why are you here?"

"Oh, my parents made me take a part time job here," I explained.

"That would explain it," Salina said to herself before adding, "You're mainly going to be cleaning rooms and working in the kitchen though."

"I don't have a problem with that, but I should be heading home now," I said.

Salina smiled, "Alright, we'll see you tomorrow. Oh, and if you need anything when you're here, just gimme a shout."

I nodded and we went our separate ways.

Fifteen minutes later:

I was walking around for a while, completely lost.

That was, until I came to a door at the end of a hallway.

Pressing my ear against it, I couldn't hear anything so I turned the handle and walked into the room.

What I saw made me go weak in the knees.

The room was empty except for a figure hunched over something that looked like a dead animal.

The figure turned and looked at me and I instantly recognized him as Sasuke.

Only, he didn't look like he did at school. His onyx eyes had turned a deep scarlet, two of his teeth were sticking out now at fang length and there was blood dripping from his mouth onto a bloody wound on the dead animal.

I couldn't think straight and I could feel my consciousness slipping away from me.I could only mutter one thing before I collapsed.

"You're a v-vampire."

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**Well, there you have it! Chapter two of Red Blood, Black Rose! About time I know but I had major writer's block at the beginning of the chapter. I know what I want to do for the next chapter so it shouldn't take as long unless I have trouble on the new chapter for my other fic. I was originally going to add a scene to this but since I really wanted to post this chapter I'll put it in chapter 3.**

**Read and Review peoples!!!!!!! the more reviews that faster the chapters are posted!!!!! **

**until next time!**

**spirit**


	3. Eggnog!

**Hi peoples!**

**I'm back with another chapter of Red Blood, Black Rose for ya! I know that I haven't updated in forever but I'm suffering of lack of writing time. **

**Anyway I got Falling Demon/ Skye onee-chan here to bug me until I keep writing. Therefore, I don't think that she'll let me leave the computer until I post the chapter…this could take a while so on with the disclaimer!**

**Skye onee-chan if you would please:**

**Disclaimer: ****Spirit-nee-chan doesn't own Naruto, and never will. ******** She does, however own Keo, Salina, and the plot.**

**I, (Falling Demon) own Skye. **

**Enough chit chat! On with the story!**

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Last time; Sakura's POV:

What I saw made me go weak in the knees.

The room was empty except for a figure hunched over something that looked like a dead animal.

The figure turned and looked at me and I instantly recognized him as Sasuke.

Only, he didn't look like he did at school. His onyx eyes had turned a deep scarlet, two of his teeth were sticking out now at fang length and there was blood dripping from his mouth onto a bloody wound on the dead animal.

I couldn't think straight and I could feel my consciousness slipping away from me and I could only mutter one thing before I collapsed.

"You're a v-vampire."

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Sasuke's POV:

As I walked over to Sakura, my teeth shortened and my eyes went back to normal.

Taking her wrist in my hand, I could feel the blood pulsing through her veins, surprisingly tempting.

I bent down towards her neck but right before my fangs had the chance to grow back, I, realized what I was doing and backed away from Sakura.

"Salina," My voice was unusually coarse.

The girl appeared on the other side of Sakura, "What did you do?!"

She sounded just as shocked and confused as I was.

"She walked in when I was feeding and fainted, I need you to get her out of here," I explained quickly, getting to my feet.

Salina looked confused, but she did as I said, propping up Sakura and walking through the door, disappearing without a trace.

I sighed as I walked over to the dead animal that lay deserted on the ground.

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Sakura's POV:

I opened my eyes to find myself in a room I didn't recognize.

I sat up slowly, trying to remember what happened when it hit me.

Sasuke was a vampire.

I was about to try and make a run for it when I noticed that I wasn't alone; sitting in an overstuffed chair, with a sketchbook in her lap, was Salina.

She looked up at me and smiled before looking towards the stairs, yelling, "Skye! She's awake, get down here, NOW!!"

Before I could say anything, the brown-haired girl ran down the stairs, muttering.

That was when I finally found my voice, "Where am I?"

The two girls weren't paying attention until I said that.

Turning to face me they said in unison, "You're at our house."

Now I was getting frustrated, "But why? How did I get here?"

"You fainted and I figured that if I brought you home unconscious, your parents would freak out," Salina explained.

"But if that's true, then I must've fainted when…" My voice trailed off, unable to finish my sentence.

"When you saw Sasuke as a vampire?" I nodded, "Well, it's not really surprising," Skye said, shrugging to herself.

"So then Sasuke's really a vampire?" I asked, more questions forming in my head.

"Yep," Salina said carelessly, "So is the rest of his family."

"And you're telling me all of this now?!" I couldn't tell if I was shocked or angry.

Skye put her hands up in defense, "We would've told you sooner but we can't go around telling everyone on the planet."

I leaned back against the couch, ready to continue my interrogation, "So is that all I need to know? Or are there other people who aren't human either?"

"Well, Naruto is a fox demon," Salina started, pushing some hair out of her face, "Skye and I are witches, and we don't really know what Deidara is. All I know is that he has mouths on his hands."

That was the opposite of what I was expecting, "Right, and I'm supposed to believe this?"

Seriously, who could possibly believe that all of this was true?

Both of them looked rather surprised, "You don't trust us?"

Now it was my turn to defend, "No, that's not what I meant. I'm just skeptical, that's all."

That seemed to calm them down.

Salina rose and as she paced the floor she looked at me, "If you really need more proof than what you saw today I can always--"

I cut her off, "No! That's alright, I believe you."

"That settles it then," Skye said, motioning for Salina to sit back down.

"Settles what?"

"You know what you saw was real so know we have to make sure that you won't tell anyone," Skye explained quickly. There was no tone in her voice that gave anything away.

I gulped, "And what exactly does that entail?"

Salina ignored the nervous tone in my voice, "You just have to promise never to tell anyone, _ever_."

The slight frown on their faces made me absolutely certain that they were serious.

"That's fine by me," I began, "No one would believe the new girl anyway. But just out of curiosity, how many people-"

"Know what we are?" I nodded at Skye's interruption.

"Only the gang you met today," Salina's voiced was smooth and effortless "And the Akatsuki. But that's basically as far as it goes."

"That makes it easier, I guess."

"Anymore questions?" Skye asked, fighting back a smile.

I racked my brain for anything important I may have missed, "No, I think I'll head home now."

"Alright, see you tomorrow!" Salina gave me one last fleeting grin before I walked out the door.

**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

A Few Months Later (Normal POV):

"Sakura! Wait up!"

The cherry blossom turned to see Naruto running up to her with Shikamaru and TenTen trailing behind amongst the rest of the stampeding students.

As soon as he caught up, Naruto started babbling about how they just got off for winter break.

Sakura managed to ignore Naruto's incessant chatter well enough to talk to the rest of the assembled group.

"Where are the others?"

"Outside waiting," TenTen explained briefly.

"Except for Skye and Salina," Shikamaru muttered.

TenTen and I looked at him, confused.

Shikamaru glanced at our baffled faces and started to elaborate, "Skye absolutely despises the cold, so my guess is that Salina is trying to drag Skye outside at this point."

"Oh," The girls mused in unison.

If there was snow outside like there was now, Skye would want nothing to do with it.

At this point, a majority of the students were already out the doors and on their way home.

As if on cue, Salina rounded the corner, half pulling half dragging an indifferent looking Skye behind her.

"Shall we go?" Salina spoke as if she wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary.

"That would be the best idea," Shikamaru muttered.

Naruto was still rambling on about something unintelligible when TenTen smacked him upside the head.

"OW! What was that for?" Naruto moaned, the group around him laughing.

"It's time to go Naruto," TenTen explained, hands on her hips.

"Oh," Naruto was over it in seconds as he shouted, "LET'S GO!"

Naruto led the way to the doors with the others following.

Outside, Sasuke, Hinata, Neji, Ino, and Keo were waiting outside, a few feet to the side of the doors.

"About time you showed up! What the hell took you so long?" Ino accused.

Clearly, she was annoyed at being forced to wait.

"Skye refused to come outside," Shikamaru explained carelessly.

Neji was the only one staring at the door, "And it looks like she still is."

This caused the others to turn around only to find Salina trying to pull Skye out of the building by the wrist.

"Dammit Skye! Why can't you just tolerate the cold like a normal person?!" Salina exclaimed breathlessly.

Skye's only response was a sort of hissing noise that sounded more like it should belong to a cat.

As everyone outside started laughing, a figure came down the hall unseen.

The figure came closer and Salina and Skye who were still paying no attention.

"Need some help…hn?" The question was directed at Salina.

The girl paused and looked up, automatically recognizing the figure as Deidara.

She nodded silently.

As a result, Deidara grabbed Skye around the waist and draped her over his shoulder.

This of course, didn't go without a response.

"What the hell are you doing?! Put me down, now!!!"

"If I did that, you would never leave the school, would you…yeah?" His tone seemed effortless.

"Humph!" Skye huffed in reply.

The group was laughing as they started walking their separate ways.

"Seven tonight, right Sasuke?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yeah, are you all coming?" Sasuke replied.

"Of course everyone's coming!" Salina chirped.

"She's right, this has been planned for a week," Neji stated.

TenTen grinned, "And it's not every day that you have a party at your place."

Sasuke frowned, "Seven it is then."

Sakura looked from face to face, unable to depict what anyone was talking about.

Sasuke looked at her knowingly, "We'll explain on the way."

The cherry blossom watched the others walk their separate ways before running to catch up with Naruto and Sasuke.

Falling into step with them, Sakura started her list of questions.

"So what are we doing at seven?"

"Every year we have a party at our house on the first night of winter break. It's one of the few times that Sasuke will willingly throw a party here," Naruto explained.

Clearly he was as excited as everyone else was.

"Then how long does it last?"

This time Sasuke answered, "Normally everyone passes out sometime the next morning so they leave late the next afternoon."

"Oh, I get it now,"

"So are you coming?" The fox demon's voice was clearly hopeful.

"Sure! I just have to ask my parents first though," Her voice was ecstatic.

"Yes! Now _everyone_ really is coming!" Naruto shouted, jumping in the air just a little too high.

"Careful dobe, we're not inside yet," Sasuke scolded.

"Calm down teme we're almost there," Naruto grinned, but stopped jumping.

**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x**

Sakura's POV:

I had just changed into my uniform when there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," I said, figuring they'd hear me.

A second later, Sasuke was standing mere feet away.

"Damn, I still can't get used to that speed of yours," I muttered under my breath, hoping he hadn't heard.

The boy in front of me smirked. Apparently he had.

"You don't need to change," He said.

I looked at him curiously, "What do you mean? I have to work today."

He was in front of me then, so close that I had to lean against the dresser.

Sasuke placed his hands on either side of me, bringing his lips to my ear.

"I said, you don't have to change," His cool breath on my cheek made it hard to think.

"But if I don't work today, I won't get paid," I managed to choke out.

I felt Sasuke trail his lips down to the crook of my neck and then an envelope was slipped under my hand.

"Your paycheck is in there," He mumbled, "If you really want to work, you can help set up."

I nodded slowly, struggling to breathe.

Sasuke placed one soft kiss on my neck, before straightening up and backing towards the door.

"It's settled then, change out of that uniform and then come down the hall if you want to help out," His voice sounded as if nothing had happened as he turned through the door before I could respond.

**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x**

Once I managed to slow down my racing heart, I walked down to where Sasuke said to go.

Inside, I found Naruto and Sasuke setting up tables.

I was about to say something when there was a _'poof' _and a small puff of smoke.

Once it cleared, Salina and Skye stood in the center of the room, grinning.

"Hi everybody!" Salina yelled.

"What are you two doing? You're two hours early," Sasuke growled.

The two girls seemed unaffected.

"We came to help set up," Skye chirped in response.

"By the looks of it, you could really use it," Salina added.

By now I couldn't help but laugh.

Everyone looked at me and I automatically stopped laughing.

There was a moment of silence before Salina broke it, "Sakura, you came!"

I scratched the back of my head, "Uh, yeah."

After that, the decorating went pretty smoothly and after only three hours, everyone was there and the party had started.

Of course, Naruto had to go and get himself and Tobi hyped up on eggnog.

Luckily, we figured that out before they started running around the room and managed to move anything breakable.

"Alright," I panted, "If there anything else we need to do before they wear down?"

TenTen, Ino, and Skye were standing beside me, panting as well.

"No, I think we'll be alright as long as they don't have any sugar," TenTen said, scanning the room.

The only sane guys left walked up to them, watching Tobi bounce off the walls.

"Wait a minute, where did Naruto go?" Ino asked warily.

This made everyone perk up and look around.

"Come to think of it," Shikamaru commented lazily, "I haven't seen Hinata in a while either."

"Oh crap," Skye and Salina muttered in unison.

"How are we going to find them in this chaos?" Neji asked, looking around for his cousin.

"Simple, we split up and look for them. Knowing Naruto, he couldn't have gotten out of the house in this state.

"But who's going to keep and eye on Tobi?" Salina asked.

Tobi had come downstairs earlier to get some food while Itachi, Deidara, and Kisame were upstairs.

I smirked, "You can take care of that part."

No one argued, but Salina looked pretty annoyed so the rest of us split up and began to search the house.

At some point, Sasuke and I ran into Shikamaru and Skye.

"Any luck?" I asked.

They responded by shaking their heads.

"We might as well keep going. Naruto should be wearing down by now," Sasuke said.

Skye and I nodded and the four of us turned around a corner.

Skye and I were in front and when we got around the corner, we stopped dead in our tracks.

Sasuke managed to stop but Shikamaru bumped unintentionally into Skye.

About thirty feet in front of us were Naruto and Hinata standing in a doorway, kissing underneath a sprig of mistletoe.

Naruto had his hands on Hinata's shoulders and she was blushing insanely.

I cleared my throat and they broke apart.

"Um, this is…awkward," Skye said.

I nodded in agreement.

**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x**

Sasuke's POV:

It took about twenty minutes to straighten everything out, find the others, and get back to the basement.

Surprisingly, Tobi was passed out on an armchair and Salina was sitting on the couch, yawning.

"About time you guys got back, I was beginning to fall asleep," She said, yawning again.

Keo spoke before I could, "How did you calm Tobi down?"

The girl cocked her head and glanced at Tobi, "I told him that if he didn't calm down, I would never let him hug me again."

"Does that mean you're going to let him attack you like always?" Keo asked sitting next to her.

"No, I'm still going to yell at him for it,"

Her response was muffled by another yawn as she fell asleep, her head on Keo's shoulder.

I looked around to see that everyone had found something to lean against and fallen asleep.

"If you can't beat 'em, join 'em, right?" Keo asked me.

I nodded, not willing to argue, and laid down next to Sakura.

**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x**

**OMG it's done!!!! I know it took me forever and I know it's not that great but it's the best I could do in a time crunch!!!!! I'm trying my best to update quickly but then the quality goes down and I'm not happy with the stories anymore. Flames are welcome this time as long as there is reason to them!**

**I hope you liked the late semi holiday chapter!!!!**

**spirit**

**Pssssssssssst! don't forget to read and review!**

**Oh and if you were wondering how Salina disappeared in the beginning, Salina and Skye have the ability to disappear and reappear somewhere else.**


	4. I can prove it

**Omg I'm back finally!!!! Aren't you so happy?**

**I'm really sorry that this was taking so long but I couldn't figure out what I wanted to do in this chapter since I didn't want to launch into the plot just yet……that should be in the next chapter or two…..**

**Anyway here's the disclaimer!**

**Disclaimer: ****I don't own Naruto blah di blah but I do own Keo, Salina, and the plot.**

**Skye belongs to Falling Demon.**

**Enough chatter, on with the story!!!!!!!!!!!**

**x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

Sasuke's POV:

I didn't know why I let them drag me along, I mean, it's not like I couldn't have stopped them, being a vampire and all. But here I was, walking through the school with the others.

About ten minutes ago when we were all about to leave Salina came running out telling us we couldn't leave yet. It turns out that chain she wears around her neck with the rings on it fell off and she didn't notice. After a big fuss we all ended up searching the school for it.

So here I am, waiting for my opportunity to leave.

Sadly, I don't think I'll get that chance.

"When was the last time you saw it?" Ino sounded like we would all die if we didn't find the necklace. She was a major part of the reason that I was stuck here. Neji, Shikamaru, Keo, and Naruto didn't seem too thrilled about it either.

"I know I had it at lunch, but I can't remember if I had it afterwards," Salina's tone indicated that if we didn't find the necklace she would be acting strange for a long time.

"I'm not trying to be nosey, but why is this necklace so special?"

**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x**

Normal POV:

When Sakura had the question out no one answered. Salina's hand flew instinctively to her neck only to bring it down realizing the chain wasn't there.

Sakura waited patiently, looking from face to face until Salina's voice came out in a near whisper.

"The rings belonged to my grandparents, they were their wedding rings."

Before Sakura could reply, a voice boomed from further down the hallway.

"Hey! What are you all doing here…hn?"

The gang turned around to see Deidara and Tobi approaching them.

"We could ask you the same thing," Skye replied, her hands on her hips.

"You could, but I won't answer, yeah," His smirk seemed to frustrate Skye.

"Alright then, Tobi," Shikamaru said, "What are you guys doing here?"

Tobi's voice was perky as normal, "I lost my sunglasses, but Kisame called and told us that they were at his house so we're leaving now."

Deidara frowned at Skye's triumphant expression, "Alright you know why we're here so now you have to spill, hn."

"Salina here lost her necklace and decided that none of us could leave until she found it," Neji explained quickly, hoping that it would get them out of there faster.

"You mean this one?" Deidara pulled a necklace out of his pocket and dangled it at arms length so that everyone could see it.

Salina's eyes widened "Yes! That's mine!"

"Good to know," Deidara's grin didn't give anything away, "Because Tobi wanted to see it, yeah."

After saying this, the blonde tossed the necklace to Tobi who caught it eagerly.

Everyone groaned the second the necklace touched his hands.

"He _had _to give it to Tobi," TenTen muttered.

"I guess we're not going to get to leave for a while," Naruto said in disbelief.

"Tobi, can I _please_ have that back, you don't know how important it is to me," Salina gave him a pleading look.

The boy stared at her for a few minutes before walking behind her, oblivious to the questioning looks around him.

Salina could feel his heat behind her and could barely get her question out.

"What are you doing?"

As an answer, Tobi slipped the necklace around her neck and locked the clasp.

A second later he was twirling her in a circle again like he normally did.

"AHHHHHHHHHH PUT ME DOWN TOBI!!!!!"

""Does t-this mean w-we g-get to go home n-now?" Hinata asked.

"I don't think we should wait to find out," Sakura replied.

"Sounds like a plan to me," TenTen replied, turning in the direction of the door.

Naruto had reached the door first and tried to yank it open but it wouldn't budge. He tried for a few more minutes putting his feet against the door and falling down several times to no avail. By the time he gave up, Skye and Keo had managed to pry Tobi off of Salina and they –along with Deidara- had joined the others.

"What's with the door, shouldn't the fox demon of all people be able to open a door?" Sakura sounded annoyed.

"I should, but I can't," Naruto replied, heaving.

Sasuke tried to pull the door open himself but it didn't work. "Damn, I can't get it either."

"I could blow it up, hn," Deidara sounded hopeful.

"You can't do that," Keo muttered.

"And why can't he? It'll get us all out faster."

Apparently Ino had no respect for her school on a Friday night.

Salina sighed, "If he blew up the door they'd have to launch into a huge investigation, and we can't have that now can we?"

"Although it may keep us out of school for a day or two," Skye thought aloud.

"Getting us out of school or not, it doesn't matter," Shikamaru declared, "We were the last people here, therefore the prime suspects."

Skye looked disappointed, "Yeah I guess you're right."

"Of course he is, it's Shikamaru you're arguing with," TenTen grinned.

That was when the lights went out.

"AHHHHH I CAN'T SEE!!!!!! SOMEONE TURN ON A LIGHT!!!!!"

"Naruto, you're a fox demon that can see in the dark, so shut the hell up!"

"Ow! You didn't have to hit me, Skye."

"Yes I did."

"No you didn't."

"Yes I did."

"No you-"

"It doesn't matter! We are stuck in a school and the power just went out, there are more important things to think about than whether or not someone deserved to be hit!"

"Wow, Hinata, I didn't think you had it in you…" Neji, murmured.

"You go girl!"

"Ino…."

"What is it Shikamaru?"

"Never mind."

"Either way Hinata's right," Sasuke said, "We need to either find out what's going on here or find a way out, so let's split up and get going."

**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x**

With Naruto and Hinata:

Naruto and Hinata walked into the science lab with flashlights in hand.

Shining her flashlight around the room, the pale girl couldn't find anything.

"Hinata," Naruto surprised Hinata by edging closer to her.

"Y-Yes Naruto-kun?"

"Do you remember what happened at the holiday party?"

"H-Hai, w-what a-about it?" Her voice was quiet as she recalled the night's events.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know what came over me," Naruto's voice was unnaturally ashamed.

Hinata's eyes widened, "You have no reason to apologize!" she exclaimed.

Naruto looked at her, astonished, "Hinata you didn't stutter!"

Naruto paused for a moment, taking in what she had said, "Wait, a second, what do you mean I don't have anything to apologize for? I kissed you when I was drunk on eggnog! That seems like something to apologize for to me."

Hinata took the chance to stop his rambling, "Naruto, why did you-well you know,"

Naruto thought for a moment, "Like I said, I was drunk on eggnog, but I guess it was just sort of something that I've been wanting to do for a long time, but that still doesn't make it right, I'd understand if you were mad at me."

Hinata stared at him, turning red, "I-It's right when both people have b-been waiting for it."

Naruto gaped at her, "So you're saying that…."

Hinata didn't answer she just nodded and smiled slightly.

A fox like grin spread across the demon's face, "In that case, since there's no one here to interrupt, you won't mind me doing this!"

Naruto placed one hand on the small of Hinata's back and used the other to tilt her chin towards him before pressing his lips to hers. It was gentle, even though his enthusiasm was evident.

**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

With Tobi:

"AHHHHHHH WHERE AM I?!?!?!?!?!? WHY DID _I _HAVE TO BE THE ONE LEFT ALONE?!?!?!?!"

Err, never mind…..

**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

With Neji and TenTen:

TenTen and Neji were walking down a hall in the south side of the school in complete silence. The only sound was their footsteps and the sound of rain pattering against the roof somewhere above them along with the occasional burst of thunder.

The silence didn't seem to bother Neji in the slightest but it was driving TenTen to the brink of insanity.

"Are you going to say something?"

Neji's cold tone surprised the brunette.

"I was waiting for you to say something since you wouldn't say anything otherwise," She replied the best she could.

"Ah,"

TenTen turned to him with her hands on her hips. "Is that all you can say? 'Ah'? It would really be nice if you spoke to me a little more, it makes you seem like a complete ass. I realize that you're not a talkative person but you could at least say enough to make me believe that you don't hate me!"

Neji looked at the upset girl beside him, shocked.

"Y-You think I hate you?" Clearly, merely saying the sentence was hurting him.

"That's what you make it seem like a majority of the time," TenTen's tone seemed hurt as well.

"TenTen listen to me, please. I _don't_ hate you. That would be impossible for me, as hard as it is to believe I care about you more than anyone knows," Neji pleaded, trying to get through to her.

TenTen looked at him, "Really?" Neji nodded, "so does that make us friends, or-"

Neji cut her off, "We can be anything you want us to be,"

TenTen smiled and took his hand, "That sounds pretty good right now."

**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

With Ino and Shikamaru:

As Shikamaru walked along, Ino followed about a few feet behind him muttering, "It had to be him, _him_, why couldn't it have been Sasuke?!"

Shikamaru –now fed up with Ino's rant- turned around to face her.

However Ino wasn't paying attention so she bumping into him and fell back.

She glared up at him, "What the _hell_ was that for?!"

Shikamaru folded his arms across his chest and looked down at her, "You know, if you stopped complaining you would be able to get away from me faster. I didn't realize that the idea of being alone with me irritated you so much. Besides, when are you going to get over Sasuke anyway? It's getting troublesome."

Ino stared at him blankly before snapping, "If you paid any attention whatsoever you would have realized that I don't like him anymore!"

Shikamaru was taken aback, "What do you mean? You always obsess over him when he's not around."

"It's an act for crying out loud!!! Of course, you probably don't know enough about how girls' work to know I was trying to make you jealous!" Ino shouted at him, not paying attention to what she was saying.

Shikamaru's eyes widened briefly, "So you finally admitted it."

Ino stared at him as he took her hand to pull her up.

"Huh?"

Shikamaru sighed and looked away, "I was waiting for you to admit it so that I could tell you that I…felt the same way."

Ino continued to stare at him until she understood what he was saying. When she did understand, she squealed and began hugging him.

**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

With Keo and Salina:

Keo and Salina walked out of a classroom, coming up with nothing to tell them what was going on.

"Where to next?" Salina asked, shutting the door behind her.

"I think we're pretty much done," Keo replied.

Salina looked around the hallway, "I wonder what how the others are doing."

"Your guess is as good as mine," Keo didn't seem to be paying attention.

Salina walked in front of him and waved a hand in front of his face rapidly.

Keo took her hand in his to make her stop, "What is it?"

Saline stood on her toes and leaned towards him, scrutinizing his every facial expression, "You're not acting like you normally, do."

"I'm not?"

"No you're not!" Salina raised her voice slightly, "Something's on your mind, I can tell, so what is it?"

Keo pulled their hands apart and looked away, "It's nothing to worry about, Salina."

Salina wouldn't take no for an answer, "Of course it's something to worry about if you won't talk about it!"

"Persistent as always," He muttered before looking at her, "Do you really want to know?"

The expression on the young girl's face told him yes.

"Aright, I was just thinking, about Tobi, and what you thought of him…" He trailed off.

Salina cocked her head, "You're jealous?"

Keo freaked out, "No! I just umm..."

Salina wasn't paying any attention, "You don't have to be jealous, I don't care for him the way I do you." Her tone was the same innocent one that he loved.

Salina took Keo's hand and smiled up at him. He had a skeptical looked on his face but it soon slipped away to reveal a content smile.

**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

With Deidara and Skye:

"Why the hell did I have to get stuck with you, I'd rather be with Tobi, un."

Skye glared at him, "Well I'm sorry, I wasn't the one who dragged you to the other end of the school. Why did you do that anyway?"

Deidara shrugged and focused on where his flashlight was pointed, "I don't know, I had some stuff to ask you and I knew that you wouldn't have answered truthfully if we weren't alone...yeah."

Skye came to a halt, "And what was it exactly that you wanted to ask?"

"I wanted to know why you were blushing when I carried you out of the school that day, yeah," The blonde's tone didn't give anything off but curiosity but Skye couldn't help but wonder if he had an ulterior motive.

"I was not!" Skye stammered, her face going slightly pink.

Deidara smirked, "You're lying, hn."

Skye put her hands on her hips, "I am _not_."

Apparently, Deidara knew better, "Alright, but if you weren't then, you are now, yeah," He said, shining the flashlight near Skye's face, revealing the shade of scarlet spreading across her face.

Skye gulped, "Alright, but what does it matter to you?"

Deidara shrugged, "I wanted to know if we had the same reason, yeah."

Skye had a confused expression on her face, "You never blush, Deidara."

"Yeah, but I talk less when you're around, although you wouldn't notice, yeah."

"Alright, I'll bite, what's your reason?" Skye leaned against a door, resting her hand on the handle and focusing on that.

Deidara placed his hands on either side of Skye's head, leaning closer to her face.

"I'll give you one guess, hn," He whispered, knowing he was in control.

"Umm" Skye was having trouble thinking straight.

"Oops, sorry, times up, un,"

Before she could retaliate, Deidara had already crashed his lips onto hers.

**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

With Sasuke and Sakura:

Sasuke and Sakura were walking through the library in silence.

Soon, Sasuke sighed and looked at Sakura, "Alright, what are you thinking about?"

Sakura smiled at him meekly, "Nothing of importance."

Sasuke gave her a skeptical expression and soon the look in his eyes caused Sakura to stop resisting.

"I was just wondering," Sakura chose her words carefully as Sasuke waited impatiently, "I know that my blood is more, appealing to you, and I was trying to figure out if it would ever cause you to, well, lose control…."

Sasuke shook his head dismissively, "No, I can control myself if I want too, and I definitely _don't _want to cause you any harm."

When Sakura didn't say anything, Sasuke took that as doubt (which it was).

"I can prove it," Sasuke said quietly, trying to convince both Sakura and himself.

Before Sakura could protest, Sasuke locked his cold hands around Sakura's wrists and pinned them above her head against a bookcase.

"I can prove it," He repeated in her ear.

**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

**Wow, there is a lot of fluff in here…..**

**But…**

**Omg it's done!!! And thank you soooooo much to Skye onee-chan for forcing me to finish it. (Seriously, she was sitting next to me; poking me in the side every time I stopped typing.) Dammit, she's doing it again! (She just poked me)**

**Skye: Hope you guys enjoy! I've been pushing her for at least 3 hours now. w **

**Thank you Skye for that useful information. She hasn't even read the chapter yet so it will be a surprise to all! (Except me, Hehe)**

**So yeah, read and review!**

**spirit**

**P.S: I'm going to proof read this quickly so please forgive anything I miss! I'm trying to do it quickly so I can read the manga Skye one-chan lent me.**


	5. Blue Chalk and Ramen

**Hiya peoples of fan fiction. net!**

**I'm sorry it took me this long but this time I didn't have Skye one-chan to force me to start/type/finish/post this chapter by poking me in the side all day long……Wait, scratch that, she's here right now….I'm not going to bother with anymore excuses because I know they get old and I'm beginning to doubt how many people read this part…….**

**Disclaimer: ****I don't own Naruto. I do own Salina and Keo-and the plot! Oh and Falling Demon owns Skye….I think that about covers it….**

**To the story!!**

**Oh, and the italics are recaps so you don't have to go back into the last chapter to remember what happened…**

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_Before Sakura could protest, Sasuke locked his cold hands around Sakura's wrists and pinned them above her head against a bookshelf._

"_I can prove it," He repeated in her ear._

Sasuke bent his head and kissed Sakura's neck softly. Once or twice, he flicked the tip of his icy tongue against her skin to test Sakura's reaction. She gasped lightly but Sasuke brought his lips to hers before she could give anymore of a response.

Sakura's heart was racing, but she couldn't do anything about it. Her arms were locked above her head and his body was too close to hers to be able to move. But most of all his mouth was so _intoxicating._

Before Sakura could have another thought, Sasuke released her wrists in favor of her waist and buried his face in the crook of her neck.

Sasuke could hear the beating of the Sakura's heart easily. _I must have really gotten her going_, he thought.

"Heh, I told you I could control myself," He said, a smirk was evident in his tone.

Sakura was focusing too much on her breathing to do anything more than nod. She couldn't figure out why this was happening. She hardly knew anything about him, but still she couldn't help but feel….happy, having him so close.

A brief moment later Sasuke relinquished his hold on Sakura and took a step back.

"I think that we've both had enough pleasure for today," The vampire said, putting his hands in his pockets.

Trying to ignore to blush that she knew was covering her face she replied, "We should probably go and find the others."

Sasuke nodded and waited for Sakura to come to his side but when they started walking the floor disappeared beneath them, sending the pair plummeting into the dark.

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With Deidara and Skye:

_Deidara placed his hands on either side of Skye's head, leaning closer to her face._

"_I'll give you one guess, hn," He whispered, knowing he was in control._

"_Umm" Skye was having trouble thinking straight._

"_Oops, sorry, times up, un,"_

_Before she could retaliate, Deidara had already crashed his lips onto hers._

Skye let out a muffled gasp and clutched his shirt. This wasn't what she was expecting when she was walking through the school with Deidara just minutes before.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt Deidara's fingers braid into her hair, pulling her closer.

It wasn't long before she found herself kissing him back.

Deidara slid his free hand down her arm; resting his hand over Skye's which was on the door handle.

Unfortunately the combined weight forced the doorknob down and the door swung open sending the pair tumbling into the pitch black room and onto the floor.

Except, there was no floor….

**x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x**

With Keo and Salina:

_Salina took Keo's hand and smiled up at him. He had a skeptical looked on his face but it soon slipped away to reveal a content smile._

A sort of rustling and scraping sound came from above them. A second later, the air vent a few feet in front of them fell along with a black lump that hit the ground with a loud thump and a groan.

Salina pried her hand from Keo's grip and creeped over to the mound cautiously. When she poked gingerly with her foot the mound jumped up and grabbed her.

"Hey let me go!! Keo get it off of me!!" Salina screamed.

Keo pointed the flashlight to where Salina's voice was coming from, revealing the lump to be Tobi. The light got into his eyes and Tobi immediately let Salina go and started running in circles, screaming.

Salina slumped to the ground, panting, "Oh, it's just Tobi," she murmured.

Keo walked towards her and pulled her to her feet. "Cool it, Tobi. The light isn't in your eyes anymore," He said.

Tobi stopped running and screaming, "Oh yeah…."

"Well, we need to keep moving; otherwise we may never find the others," Keo said, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Right! Hey, why don't we try looking in that room over there?!" Tobi exclaimed.

He ran over to the door and bolted through it, disappearing into the darkness.

Keo pointed the flashlight into the darkened doorway. Tobi was standing there, looking around frantically.

"Um Tobi," Salina started. Tobi turned around the look at her and cocked his head, "You do know there isn't anything under you, right?"

Tobi glanced underneath his feet, "Uh-oh…AAAAHHHHHHHHHH" He began an accelerating descent into nothingness.

Keo and Salina stood outside the door peering down.

"We should go and get him, but how?" Keo asked, knowing the jumping in headfirst wasn't the best idea.

"What do you mean how? Jump!" Salina explained quickly, jumping through the door without a second thought.

"Salina, wait!" He reached after her but missed her wrist by an inch.

Annoyed, he let out a brief sigh before leaping after her and letting the darkness consume him.

**x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x**

With Neji and TenTen:

They had just exited yet another classroom when a squeal came from around the corner.

"Ino," The pair said in unison, turning their heads towards each other.

"Well, let's go see what the deal is," TenTen said, not waiting for a response.

Neji nodded and trailed behind her.

They hadn't gotten far when Ino ran around the corner with Shikamaru in tow.

Shikamaru noticed TenTen and Neji in front of them but couldn't stop Ino before they collided.

The four continued falling long after they should have hit the ground.

Neji activated his byakugan to look around but there was nothing in the surrounding area but darkness.

**x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x**

With Naruto and Hinata:

_Naruto gaped at her, "So you're saying that…."_

_Hinata didn't answer she just nodded and smiled slightly. _

_A fox like grin spread across the demon's face, "In that case, since there's no one here to interrupt, you won't mind me doing this!"_

_Naruto placed one hand on the small of Hinata's back and used the other to tilt her chin towards him before pressing his lips to hers. It was gentle, even though his enthusiasm was evident._

Hinata kissed him back carefully until Naruto pressed his forehead against hers so he could speak. His breath fanned out against Hinata's blushing face.

"You don't have to be so cautious, I'm not going to run away," He whispered, kissing her again, more firmly this time.

The second time around, Hinata wasn't as wary. The shy girl moved her hands up Naruto's chest until she could wrap her arms around his neck.

When Hinata pulled back for air, Naruto moved to her neck.

"That's better, I told you I wouldn't run away," He murmured against her pale skin.

He continued to kiss her neck, nipping her lightly until she started squirming. Laughing, Naruto squeezed her tightly, kissing her hair once before letting her go.

Hinata smiled and walked to the now closed door, giving her heart an opportunity to slow down.

Opening the door, she was greeted by darkness. Placing a foot outside the doorstep, her toe never touched the ground.

"N-Naruto, come o-over here," She called over her shoulder in her normal quiet tone.

"Alright!" Naruto replied.

The fox boy ran towards Hinata but tripped on his way over sending them both through the doorway.

**x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x**

Naruto landed next to Hinata with an arm draped over her back on top of a large pile.

A large, _groaning_ pile.

"Get off of us, dobe," a familiar voice growled from somewhere underneath the two.

"Teme, it's you!" Naruto yelled, ecstatic.

One by one, everyone stood up, moaning and stretching.

"Where are we anyway?" Salina asked, looking around.

A flash of lightning answered her question. The features of the cafeteria were illuminated easily from the lightning.

"WHAT!? WE'RE RIGHT BACK WHERE WE STARTED!!" Naruto shouted, waving his arms frantically.

"With nothing to show for it either," Sasuke added.

Deidara glanced at a nearby door, "Hey, does anyone else hear that…un?"

Everyone shut up to listen. Faint footsteps were come closer from behind one of the exits, gradually getting louder.

"They're going to come in, aren't they?" Ino asked, a nervous tone becoming evident.

Shikamaru shook his head in disagreement, "I don't think they can, the door's locked."

"Unless, a janitor heard Naruto yelling and came to scope things out," TenTen suggested hopefully.

"Hey, what's happening to the door?!" Salina yelped.

The footsteps had stopped and now a pale, shimmering mist was leaking through the door.

Everyone backed up to the wall but stayed ready to defend themselves.

"Mist? But that door leads to a hallway," Skye whispered quickly.

By now, the glowing substance had completely penetrated the cafeteria and began to take shape. It compiled itself into a column no more than four and a half feet tall. Slowly, it began to form arms and legs that were long and slim, and a pale curtain of hair swirled down to its waist. Finally, it became clear that it was a young schoolgirl. Her eyes were wide and dead, there wasn't anything that gave her the appearance of being alive, the girl didn't even appear to be breathing.

The majority of the group let out a relieved sigh.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked, completely confused.

The girl hardly opened her mouth but everyone could hear her clearly, "Ayame."

"Are _you_ the one keeping us here?" Salina asked cautiously.

Ayame nodded.

"If that's true, then why won't you let us leave?" Sasuke demanded. He was losing his patience and fast.

The girl smiled, as if the answer was the most obvious thing in the world, but there was an immortal sadness in her eyes, "If you leave, I will be alone."

"That's it?!" Naruto yelled, "That's your reason for doing all of this?!"

Ayame nodded earnestly, "I have been lonely for many years now."

"Couldn't you just go home?" TenTen inquired, this girl's story wasn't making any sense.

The pale girl's smile grew slightly, a secret hiding behind it, "My parent's moved away a long time ago."

"Wait a minute; you aren't Ayame Takashi, are you?" Salina asked in disbelief.

"That's impossible; she's been dead for…" Shikamaru trailed off in realization.

"WAHHHHHHHHH SHE'S A GHOST!!"

"Of course she's a ghost bakas!! Now calm down or shut the hell up! That goes for you too Ino," Skye shouted, whacking both Tobi and Naruto over the head.

"Thank you,"

"Alright, I'm confused," Sakura said crossing her arms.

"A few years after the school opened, Ayame Takashi entered her senior year of high school," Keo started.

"On the night of the senior prom, she disappeared, un," Deidara continued, smirking.

"The following morning they found her dead behind the school from a drug overdose," Neji finished.

"That's the official story, at least," Neji stated.

"Official story, you mean that that's not really how you died?" The cherry blossom asked, turning towards Ayame.

Her grin turned wicked, "That's right."

"So then how _did_ you die," Ino asked cautiously.

Ayame's malicious grin slipped away to reveal a morose expression, "I was dancing, at the prom, as you would expect when a young man –he looked old enough to be a senior, although I had never seen him before- interrupted. We started dancing and eventually, he led me out the second entrance of the gym, the one that leads to the back of the school."

"What happened next?" Keo urged softly.

"I don't remember much after that," she replied desperately, seeming close to tears, "I remember being close to him, but then it all went black after seeing a pair of blood red eyes. The only thing I was aware of was this immense _pain. _It started just by my neck but then it radiated through my bloodstream like wildfire. I screamed out but it didn't stop. That was the last thing I recall before slipping into unconsciousness. Only, I'm pretty sure it was death, not unconsciousness seeing as when I woke up and got home, I was incredibly pale and my parents were on the way to my funeral."

"T-That's t-terrible," Hinata whispered timidly.

"It wasn't the best way to go, I agree," Ayame replied.

"Do you remember what he looked like?" Sasuke asked; his brow furrowed.

"Yes, actually I can. He had very long black hair that I _think_ was pulled back. There were lines across his face, almost like he didn't get enough sleep. He was very pale and handsome too, now that I think of it," Ayame said, starting to talk more to herself than Sasuke.

"Anything _else_," Sasuke replied, aggravated slightly at that last comment.

The girl twirled a strand of hair around her finger, "The only other thing I can remember was that he had dark eyes. Very similar to yours I would say."

Sasuke was too preoccupied to respond.

Deidara interrupted the silence after a brief pause, "Well this has all been very fun but I would appreciate it if you would let us leave, yeah."

"No! You _can't _leave me! I don't want to spend an eternity walking the halls of this school. The memories would follow me forever!" The ghost cried, her voice was shrill.

"We can't stay here either! We all have families and lives. Our disappearance would just cause chaos," Ino rambled frantically.

"Why don't you just move on to the next life?" Salina asked simply.

"I would if I could, believe me," Ayame huffed, crossing her arms.

"Well that's easy," Skye said, grabbing Salina's bag and rummaging through it, ignoring Salina's protests. "Here it is," she muttered, pulling out a piece of blue chalk and handing it to the ghost in front of her."

Ayame looked at Skye, baffled, "What good will a puny piece of chalk do me?"

"During the next full moon, go outside and draw a circle with this," the brunette said, placing the chalk in Ayame's hand, "Step inside the circle and bam, you're outta here."

"How can I be sure you're not conning me?" The ghost asked skeptically.

"If you don't believe me, you can just give it back and spend the rest of eternity in this place," Skye answered in a sing song voice.

Ayame stared at the chalk for a few minutes. "Alright fine, since you helped me, I'll let you all leave."

While the gang was cheering, Ayame swept in front of her and all the doors swung open.

"Go before I change my mind," She said, directing them towards a particular hallway that led outside, "And thank you."

As she was saying this, her form was dissolving and before she had even finished the last words, Ayame had dissolved completely.

**x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x**

Outside the storm had subsided and the air was laced with the smell of rain. A sliver of the moon glowed through the haze that the clouds had left behind.

Naruto ran ahead of the group and turned around to face his friends.

"All right, now who's up for some ramen?!" He exclaimed, his normal fox grin gracing his features.

His enthusiasm was answered by groans.

"Naruto…"

"What is it Sakura-chan?"

"Never mind, just forget I said anything."

**x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x**

**Oh my friggin god it's done!! It toke me so long to finish it!! I even had Falling Demon here to help me but it took me a good 3 to four hours **_**with **_**her here to even finish half the chapter…the thing is that it's shorter than the other chapters (at least, I think it is… ) **

**I hope you're proud of me, I sacrificed a lot of my time when I didn't have anything to do to finish this chapter... Technically I finished it late anyway cuz Falling Demon had given me until Friday to post this chapter and it's Sunday right now…**

**I have to go and hunt down this icon that I REALLY want to find now so read and review and it might just inspire me to update faster.**

**Don't Forget! Oh and Happy Easter!**

**spirit**

**P.S to falling demon: I want that notebook back NOW dammit!!**


	6. MAJORLY IMPORTANTO!

Hey Peoples,

Sorry if you were hoping for another chapter but this is important. The pm system isn't working on my account for some reason (I don't know if it's like this for everyone) and I know that people have been trying to come into contact with me. So if you need to reach me for anything, DON'T send me a private message, email me at spirit - of - faith (delete the spaces)

For my amazing readers:

Don't Worry I'm not discontinuing either of my stories, I've just had trouble figuring out what to write for my next chapter (Escpecially in Red Blood, Black Rose). So any ideas would be appreciated.

Thank you sooooooo much for sticking with me!!

sincerely,

spirit


	7. Skeletons in the Closet

HI peoples of fanfiction

**HI peoples of fan fiction!!**

**I said I don't have a lot of ideas but I think I scrounged up enough to put together a chapter for ya, so let's get started!! Oh, and thank Falling Demon for coming up with Skye's past.**

**Disclaimer: ****I don't own Naruto. I own the plot and Salina and Keo. Skye belongs to Falling Demon.**

**x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

Normal POV:

_BEEP! BEEEP! BEEEEP! BEEEEEP! BEEEEEEEEEEEP!_

Salina groaned and stuck her arm out from under the blanket to shut off her alarm clock. It was Saturday, dammit!! She knew she didn't set her alarm so Skye must've gotten bored and turned it on. Which was odd since Salina was normally the one to wake up first and get bored.

She knew that Skye could burst in at any second to make sure she didn't go back to sleep so she slowly rose from the pillows. Pushing the hair from her face, she could feel that some of it was still damp from the shower she had taken after they had finally gotten out of the school last night.

Being careful not to trip, she untangled her legs and waist from the sheets and stood up. It had been a restless and stormy night for Salina but judging from the sunlight streaming through the gap between the curtains, she could tell that it was a beautiful day.

Her good mood was spoiled when she noticed the date on the calendar next to her computer (Her computer is on her desk across from her bed which is against the wall. If you're facing the desk, the door and closet is on your left and a large window facing north is on your right.).

Trying not to think about it, Salina got dressed, brushed out her hair and walked out of the room, grabbing her necklace with the rings on it on her way out.

Salina walked into the kitchen to see Skye perched on a stool at the counter, tapping her fingers against the table impatiently.

The younger girl smiled to herself and took an apple from the bowl of fruit in front of Skye. Biting into it, she said "Morning," while chewing.

"About time you got down here!" Skye shouted, "Do you have any idea how bored I was?"

Ignoring her shouting friend, Salina took another bite of apple, letting the juice quench the thirst that had been scratching the back of her throat.

"Skye, why did you wake me up?" Salina asked, bringing the girl's rambling to an abrupt halt.

Skye grinned, to Salina it was innocent, mischievous, and annoying all at one time. "If I didn't you would've just sulked in your room all day. By turning your alarm clock on, I made you wonder what was going on so you came downstairs."

Salina narrowed her eyes at Skye, "That's a dirty trick."

"But it worked."

As Skye was congratulating herself on coming up with such a brilliant plan, Salina stood up and started walking dejectedly towards the stairs.

Salina was about to shut the door to her room when someone put their foot in the doorway. Salina opened the door slightly to reveal Anko, Skye's aunt and Salina's legal guardian.

"I have no problem with you being a hermit for the day," She began, a wicked grin on her face, "But before you do, you may want to answer the door."

The doorbell rang and with a huff, Salina made her way to the front door. Unexpectedly, it was Deidara who was at the door.

Scratching the back of his head nervously he said, "Is Skye there, un?"

On any other day, Salina would have teased and interrogated him, but she could tell that she would break down at any moment. Salina pulled herself together enough to say, "She's in the kitchen," and point to the doorway that led to said room. The blonde looked like he was about to say something in a cocky way like he normally would but instead he just nodded in thanks and walked to the kitchen when he realized the Salina was trembling slightly.

When Deidara was out of sight, Salina closed the door. She hadn't even taken her hand off the doorknob when someone knocked on the door. With a sigh, Salina opened the door mid-knock and stepped aside to allow Naruto to fall face first onto the floor.

Gradually, the others filed into the room stepping over (or in some cases on) Naruto and greeting Salina.

When everyone was inside, Salina closed the door and mustered a heartbreakingly small ghost of a smile. It was the best she could do at the time so it would have to do. "So what's the plan this year?" She asked. Every year on this day everyone would end up showing up at the house to try and cheer Salina up but she always slithered out of it at some point and it just turned into everyone hanging out at the house. She wasn't really sure that everyone was there because they wanted to be but she was still glad that they were here. Even Sakura, who probably had no idea what today was supposed to be about.

TenTen held up a plastic bag filled with DVD's, "Movie day!"

That was when Naruto jumped up and cried out in protest, "What?! Sasuke! You told me that we were going to have a piñata!"

"I lied," Sasuke said coldly, causing the others around him to laugh.

While this was happening, Salina took her opportunity to slip upstairs.

**x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

In the Kitchen:

When Skye realized the Salina had disappeared while she was congratulating herself on tricking the young girl, she decided to pass sometime putting away clean dishes from the dishwasher. As she did so, Deidara sauntered in and leaned against the counter beside her. Skye didn't realize that he was there until she turned and bumped into him. The brunette would have hit the ground if Deidara hadn't grabbed a hold of her wrists and pulled her towards him.

"That's not a very customary greeting but I guess that shouldn't surprise me with you, yeah."

A small blush crept across Skye's face as she broke from his grasp and went back to putting the clean dishes away. "Your greeting was not only uncustomary, it was rude too," the witch said scathingly.

The blonde shrugged and said, "You'll have to forgive me, hn."

"So why are you here?" Skye asked, ignoring his comment.

"I wanted to know why you kissed me back, yeah," He said simply.

Skye stood on her tiptoes to try and reach a shelf to put a glass up there, "What did you expect me to do?"

Deidara came up behind her and put the glass on the shelf before securing his arms around Skye's waist. "I _expected_ you to resist and end up slapping me at some point, un," He replied.

Skye was having a hard enough time to slow her racing heart as it was and Deidara's breath on her cheek wasn't helping much. "Would you have preferred that I slapped you?" Skye asked meekly. She could feel her resistance fading with every word.

"No," He replied softly, pulling her closer, "I just wanted to know why, yeah."

That was when Sakura walked into the kitchen to see Deidara holding Skye around the waist.

"Sorry!" Sakura exclaimed quickly, "We were about to start a movie and Naruto was making a fuss about having popcorn."

"It's no problem," Deidara said, straightening up, "I was just about to leave, yeah."

The blonde released Skye and walked past Sakura who had awkwardness written all over her face.

After a moment, Sakura found herself able to speak again, "I'm _really _sorry about that Skye."

"Don't worry about it, we have popcorn to make," Skye said dismissively, before giving Sakura a reassuring smile.

**x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

Salina walked into her bedroom to find Keo sitting at her desk with a knowing smile on his face.

"I should have known," She said weakly, sitting on her bed and wrapping her arms around her knees.

"It was rather predictable, I have to admit," Keo commented.

The young girl could feel herself beginning to tremble slightly and she knew that there was no chance of Keo missing it. With the same knowing smile on his face, Keo sat on the bed and drew her into his lap.

It wasn't Keo's actions that surprised Salina, it was her own. Any other year, Salina would playfully slip out of Keo's grasp. It was a strange feeling to realize that her reflex to resist was gone.

"I know you want to help Keo," Salina started, trying not to stutter, "But I don't think there's much you can do. Why don't you just go downstairs and watch the movie?"

"No can do," He said, tightening his arms around her and burying his head in her shoulder, "I told you that I'd always be there for you and I meant it. Even if I can't do anything or you don't want me to be there."

Salina smiled to herself. "Honestly Keo, sometimes I think that you're too nice to me."

She couldn't see it, but she was sure Keo was smirking, "Would you like me to change that?" He asked. It was soft and oddly husky at the same time, but Salina could still tell that it was a rhetorical question.

After a brief silence Keo commented, "Now that I think of it, I know what happened to make you this way every year, but you've never told me exactly what it is that bothers you about it."

Salina sighed and leaned against Keo, "What shouldn't bother me? It's the anniversary of the day that my entire life was ripped out from under me and I lost nearly everything I cared about back then. And then no one will believe me when I'm telling the truth about who triggered it all!" As Salina said this, tears began to stream down her face and she broke out in sobs. Keo knew that this was the only time that Salina would ever cry in front of someone. He also knew that when she said no one she meant no one who could do something about it as all of their friends believed her.

Keo shifted Salina around until she was crying into his shoulder. He lifted her chin and wiped the tears off her cheeks with his thumb. Salina looked him in the eyes for a moment before burying her face in his shoulder once more. As one last sob racked Salina, Keo bent down and whispered in her ear, "Its okay, you're safe now."

Salina was silent and her body was more relaxed after that so Keo assumed that she had fallen asleep. He leaned against the wall and kissed her lightly on the cheek.

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**(The others are watching a bunch of movies so they won't be in this chapter a whole lot…hehe, sorry, but you kinda gotta know a little more about my characters.)**

Sakura sat on the counter while Skye was digging through multiple cabinets, pulling out a pan with a handle. Then she started took out oil, butter, and popcorn kernels.

As Skye started making popcorn, Sakura said, "You don't have to do all that, microwave popcorn works too."

"Normally I would let Salina do this or just use microwave popcorn like you said," Skye started, pouring in the popcorn kernels and oil before placing a lid on the pan, "but Salina's kind of out of it and I sort of forgot to get more microwave popcorn, hehe."

"Speaking of Salina," The cherry-blossom said, switching topics, "What's going on with her? She's normally all loud and energetic but now she's-"

"As boring and depressing as Shikamaru, Neji, and Sasuke put together times 5?" Skye asked with a joking grin on her face. Sakura cracked up as a result.

"I heard that," Came an icy voice from the doorway. Sakura and Skye turned to see everyone's favorite vampire with a slightly agitated look on his face.

"Hey Sasuke," Skye said nonchalantly, turning back to her popcorn.

"What are you doing in here?" Sakura asked. She felt a little awkward talking to Sasuke after what happened in the library last night. Okay, more than a little awkward. Way _way _more.

He smirked, seeming to read her thoughts easily, "Naruto was getting impatient and I didn't want to listen to him complain."

"Even though you can still here him from in here," Skye finished. Sakura was about to ask why but then she remembered something. Vampires have really good hearing-- duh.

"Hey!! Skye, you forgot to answer my question!!" Sakura shouted, cutting into her and Sasuke's semi-debate on a vampire's hearing.

Skye turned back to the pink haired girl, completely indifferent, "I did? Oh, I guess I did, hehe."

Sasuke leaned against the island, staring from one girl to the other, waiting for one of them to explain.

"She wanted to know what happened to Salina," Skye explained when she realized that the vampire had no intention of leaving.

He responded with nothing more than a quiet 'hn' and Skye took that at as her cue to keep talking.

Skye took a deep breath and started explaining, "Salina's parents took over the large trading company that belonged to their family and they were always very busy when she was growing up. As a result, she spent a lot of her time with her grandparents and as you may have guessed, they became really close. In fact, Salina's grandparents were the ones to tell her that she was a witch; but they made sure that she never told her parents that. Now that I think of it, I'm pretty sure we only met Salina because she was a witch."

Sakura furrowed her brow at Skye's last statement, "What do you mean by that?"

"Her parents wanted to ship Salina off to a boarding school but her grandparents made them send her to a public school so that they could teach her magic. I met her and Keo when they moved up a grade into my class. Salina never really told her parents that she was pushed up a grade. It was another secret for her to add to the secret about her being a witch." Skye answered her question quickly so that she could continue the story. "Anyway, when she was nine, she came home from school one day to find her parents were waiting for her at the door. The first thing that they told her was that her grandparents had been found dead in their house. The next thing they told her was that someone had told them about her being a witch." Sasuke eye's flashed red for a moment when Skye said 'someone'. "Her father started threatening her with a gun and calling her a freak. Salina ran upstairs and sealed the door to keep her parents out. She packed up all of her belongings and escaped through the window. Keo found her crying in the forest in the pouring rain a few hours later and brought her here. Later we found out that Salina's parents had given up custody of her and moved away so Anko adopted her and now she lives here."

Sakura contemplated the story before speaking.

"Do you know how her grandparents died?" Sakura asked nervously, she had the feeling that she already knew how they died.

"They were completely drained of blood when they were found," Skye replied grimly.

"It was Itachi who killed them, and told her parents that she was a witch," Sasuke added, clenching his fists and glaring at the ground.

Sasuke's comment really caught her off guard, "Did you tell anyone that?"

"Yeah," He said gravely, "But no one believed either of us."

Sakura was silent for a moment. Everything that she was just told was terrible. It surprised her even more that this was the same girl who made everyone laugh everyday.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Skye started cursing.

"Dammit! Why the hell won't this popcorn pop?!"

Sasuke smirked at her, amusement in his eyes, "Did it ever cross your mind that you could just use magic to pop it?"

Skye looked from him to the pot to him and back again before she said, "Oh, right." She snapped her fingers and the counter was lined with bowls of steaming popcorn.

"What's going on in here?"

**Sakura's pov:**

I looked up to see an unfamiliar woman leaning against the doorway.

"Telling stories," Skye replied. Judging from the way they spoke to each other, I assumed that they were related; but I had trouble picturing that woman as Skye's mother as there was no resemblance.

The dark haired woman came and stood in the wide space between Skye and Sasuke. "And whose story are we telling today?" She inquired to no one in particular , grabbing a handful of popcorn.

"Salina, naturally," Sasuke replied. For the first time since I'd met Sasuke I realized how attractive his voice was; and surprisingly enough, that thought was all that was needed to make the blood rush to my cheeks. It was a weird sensation that such a quick thought was making me flush since I wasn't normally the time who blushed a lot.

"I didn't expect to see you here Sasuke," The woman said when she realized that Sasuke was there, "And who is this?" She asked, looking at me.

Skye walked next to me and rested a hand on my shoulder, "Anko, this is Sakura, she moved here not too long ago. Sakura, this is my aunt, Anko."

I said 'hi' but I don't think she heard me. Glancing between the two, I could tell that Skye was telling Anko more than what she had said out loud. I saw through the corner of my eye that Sasuke was smirking.

Then it hit me. "So you're the one who adopted Salina?" I asked.

Anko had a wicked grin on her face as she replied. "Yeah. We hatched that plan so that no one would come and try to send her to a foster home or something. Plus it gives me more time to bug her."

"But if she lives here, wouldn't it have made more sense to have Skye's parents adopt her?" Skye's expression turned morose while Anko looked at her curiously.

"You haven't told her yet? Jeez, tell your own story before you go shooting your mouth off about someone else's.

Skye's glared at Anko in a way the seemed to darken the whole room. I vaguely noticed the small wind was blowing through the room. It didn't take me long to realize that it was Skye's doing.

Anko put up her hands defensively but there was a teasing smirk on her face when she said, "Fine, if you don't tell 'em then I will. Make your choice."

The wind stopped and Skye seemed to calm down but she was still glaring at Anko as she stormed out of the room towards the others. The bowls of popcorn were floating in a line behind her.

Anko gave a brief laugh before commenting to herself, "I guess that means she wants me to tell the story."

I perched myself on the counter, preparing myself for another life story. To my surprise it wasn't that long; it was more of an explanation.

"When Skye was eight, her dad was killed by a man named Orochimaru. He was the same guy that taught me everything I know about magic. We're not really sure why he did it, but the man was twisted to say the least. Anyway, unlike her father, Skye's mother was human. Since Skye was a witch, like me, she kind of blames Skye for his death. So I came to live here and take care of Skye. Her mother is kind of a hermit now. She doesn't talk to any of us. She just goes to work in the morning, comes back late at night, and goes straight to her room."

"Do you know what happened to that Orochimaru guy?" I asked when Anko finished talking.

Anko's brow furrowed in frustration, "No, he disappeared after it happened."

I looked at the floor, afraid to say anything.

That was when Anko put her hands on her hips and said with a grin, "Alright, enough of the gloom and doom stuff. I'm gonna go see how many of your friends I can scare by the end of today."

I blinked and Anko was gone, leaving me alone in the kitchen with Sasuke.

I swung my legs back and forth, trying to make it less obvious that I was contemplating my chances of getting out of here and back to the others without having to say anything to Sasuke.

My chances weren't looking to great.

"Sakura."

I couldn't stop myself from looking at him. I knew what happened to me every time I looked him in the eye but I couldn't stop myself.

My breath caught and my heart started beating louder and faster.

I didn't have a chance to recover before he asked, "Why are you avoiding me?"

I started inching my way towards the doorway as I replied in a slightly teasing tone, "You must be paranoid; I'm not avoiding you, I'm just-"

"Avoiding me _and_ my question." As he said that he was in front of me, holding my arm to keep me in place and staring me down until I cracked. Damn inhuman speed.

'I'm _not_ avoiding you," I persisted, "I just don't get why I feel this way when I know nothing about you. It's confusing."

I wasn't sure if he knew what I was talking about but just like before, he seemed to read my mind. He let go of my arm with a discontent sigh. "I knew I shouldn't have started talking to you. I'm getting as attached to you as you are to me," He muttered to himself.

Neither of us spoke for a while, and the tension was getting unbearable so finally I grinned at him and said, "Come on, let's go watch Anko scare the living crap out of Naruto."

Sasuke smirked at me and led the way towards the other room.

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**Ha! It's done!! Sorry it took so long but the second half of the chapter gave me nothing but writer's block. On the bright side, two days ago I was thinking about the story and I wrote everything down. So now I have more of a basis of where I want to go with the story!! YAY!! **

**Happy onee-chan? I updated, so STOP BUGGING ME TO TYPE!! –Oh and happy late graduation, hehe.**

**read and review peeps!**

**spirit**


	8. Damn paper cut!

**I'm back for chapter 7 of Red Blood, Black Rose!!! I know I know, it's been a REALLY long time but I've read some stories who don't update for nearly a year. Anywho, the important thing is that I'm back and ready for action! Sorry, I meant to get this up yesterday, but I had a change of plans that left me with a lack of time.**

**Disclaimer****: I do not own Naruto. I only own Salina, Keo, and the plot. Skye belongs to well…Skye (or Falling Demon).**

**That reminds me! By the time I post this it will be slightly after Skye onee-chan's birthday……Happy Birthday!**

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Sakura's POV:

My parents weren't really right when they said I would be working as a maid in the Uchiha Mansion. I may wear a maid outfit, but all I do is wash dishes, chop up vegetables, and occasionally make Naruto ramen. The job pays pretty well considering I only work for about an hour or two a day, five days a week. But lately I've found that I spend a lot of my free time there anyway. Maybe that's why my parents think I work so hard…

There were also days that I was just too lazy to change into my 'uniform' at all. (Mikoto and Fugaku didn't seem to care). This happened to be one of those days.

I stood in front of the sink that was gushing with hot water in the center of a huge kitchen, humming to a song that I couldn't remember the name or lyrics of.

Salina's chipper voice rang out without warning, "Hey Sakura, what's up?" I started slightly, but not as much as I used to.

Smiling, I glanced up at Salina. "Hi. Should I ask what you're doing here or would I rather not be involved?" I asked knowingly.

Compared to the pale and fragile girl she was last week at her and Skye's house, Salina was back to her normal self (and for the record, I use the term normal very loosely) sitting on the counter next to the sink wearing a pair of jeans with a large hole in the knee and a dark purple and black quarter length sleeved shirt.

"Huh? Oh, I just came in here to get a snack," Salina replied absentmindedly. She flicked her wrist and multiple things happened at once. Peanut Butter and bread flew out of the pantry while a plate and a knife soared through the air and stopped in front of Salina. A peanut butter sandwich was then assembled in thin air and everything went back to its place (except for the knife which landed gently in the sink before me).

"Nice," I said calmly. I was finally getting used to all the weird stuff that was a common occurrence with my friends. The younger girl smiled at me, plucked her sandwich out of the air, and took a bite.

Strangely enough, Anko was the next person to appear in the kitchen. "Where does Naruto keep his stash of ramen?" She asked hastily, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Salina and I exchanged a glance as I pointed to a cupboard to my left and asked, "Over there, why?"

The woman smirked and walked briskly over to the cupboard I had pointed out. She opened it to reveal shelves crammed with every sort of ramen ever made and closed it again.

Salina was snickering a little bit as she inquired, "What are you going to do to Naruto now Anko?"

"You'll see. Tell me how it goes and take a picture of his face if you can," Anko stated, disappearing into thin air.

Salina waited patiently as I finished washing the rest of the dishes. Once she had gobbled down the last of her sandwich, I wiped my hands on my jeans and said, "Now I just have to dry these and put them away."

"Allow me," Salina said quickly. Before I could protest, she flicked her wrist again and all the dishes lifted themselves out of the other sink, already dry, and placed themselves neatly in their respective spots.

Placing my hands on my hips, I said quizzically, "Do you ever do anything without magic?"

"All the time," She replied, hopping off the counter and walking with me to the door, "but the others are here and I didn't feel like dealing with the impatience that is Skye and Ino when they're kept waiting."

I couldn't help but laugh as we walked towards the room where our friends were.

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Sasuke's POV:

I smelled and heard Sakura and Salina come into the room before I saw them. None of my friends seemed to notice at first. Hinata and TenTen were listening to Skye and Ino rambling about something (being kept waiting if I heard them correctly), Naruto was, well, being Naruto, and Keo, Shikamaru, Neji, and I were playing some sort of card game. I assumed I was losing, seeing as I couldn't even remember _which_ card game we were playing.

"There you two are! What the hell took you so long?" Ino demanded. I smirked inwardly; Ino never missed a chance to yell at someone, whether or not they chose to ignore her.

Salina plopped down beside TenTen but Sakura remained where she stood. A small gust air from a vent blew her enticing scent directly in my face. She smiled awkwardly at me and I smirked back in greeting. I suppose that was enough for her because she walked away and sat cross-legged between TenTen and Ino.

I shifted slightly, discontent. I still wasn't quite used to her overpowering scent. (I had grown to be very tolerant of it, I could now get as close as I wanted without feeling like I had been mauled in the face by a frying pan.) However it wasn't just her scent that bothered me; there was something in that pink hair and those emerald eyes that threw me off every time I looked at her. Even her personality was attractive in my eyes. At this rate I think it's safe to say that I haven't fallen this hard for anyone in my entire existence. And that was a long time, remember.

It would be nice for me if I could read Sakura's mind and know exactly what she thought about me. But since vampires couldn't read minds (contrary to common belief), I was left with what she told me and what I could find out from watching her.

If there's one thing I've learned about my friends, it's that they can't go one day without causing some kind of commotion. Today was no exception, and just like clockwork Naruto shouted, "Dammit Skye! Gimme that ramen!"

The brown haired girl took a bite of the ramen she had conjured up for herself and replied nonchalantly, "Nah, I don't really feel like it."

"Give it!" Clearly, Naruto thought that it was ramen Skye had stolen out of _his_ stash. (Which wouldn't have really surprised me even if it were true.)

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"YES!"

"No."

"YES!!"

"Yes."

"No!"

"Alright, suit yourself," Skye said over the snickering in the room, "More ramen for me then."

Naruto stared at her with his jaw dropped. I didn't have to guess that he was trying to figure out what had happened. Once he figured it out, he hung his head, much like a puppy that had just been scolded, and walked over to Hinata. If Naruto wasn't lying to me (which he rarely tried to do as we got older) they were now dating. Not that it really mattered to me anyway.

"I want ramen," The idiot pouted. Hinata looked at him with surprisingly genuine concern. Even though I thought she was a little nuts for dating Naruto, I had to give here credit; not many people could deal with Naruto without getting annoyed or extremely pissed off.

"You k-know Naruto," She said quietly, "Y-You have a w-whole cabinet f-full of ramen in the kitchen."

The dobe perked up instantaneously. Thanking his 'girlfriend' excitedly, he ran into the kitchen at inhuman speed. _'We're just lucky he's not running around like that outside,'_ I thought. It didn't take much to make people around her suspicious.

I took a deep breath and tried to stop myself from getting totally crushed at this stupid card game. Sadly, my few moments of peace ended when that dobe came back in hollering, "CALL THE POLICE! MY RAMEN IS GONE!"

"What are you talking about dobe?" I asked, trying to control my irritation to a less destructive level, "That cabinet was stocked to feed even _you_ for weeks."

"I KNOW!" He shouted back, "It was all here this morning and now it's gone!" Naruto looked so panicked that I briefly thought he might faint. That would be strange; a _fox demon _of all things _fainting _over _ramen_?

I noticed Sakura and Salina exchange glances that suggested they were thinking the same thing. Without a word to anyone else they stood up and walked into the kitchen. A minute or two and an "AHA!" on Salina's part later they came back. Sakura had a cup of instant ramen in her hands.

"Congrats Naruto, you have once again fallen victim to Anko's pranks," She said, tossing the cup in her hands.

The dobe's jaw dropped to a point where I thought his jaw might fall off.

"What did she do now?" Skye asked, exasperated as Sakura placed the cup of ramen in Naruto's hand and Salina closed his mouth before he could start drooling.

"Anko put a spell on his ramen to make it appear invisible. Nothing big," Salina explained to everyone, stifling her laughter with obvious difficulty.

"DAMN IT ANKO! I'M GOING TO GET YOU ONE OF THESE DAYS!" Naruto shouted suddenly, hurting my sensitive ears.

"She can't hear you Naruto," Shikamaru reminded him without looking up.

"I know," Naruto mumbled, sulking off into the kitchen to make his ramen.

A Few Hours Later:

At some point (I didn't bother keep track of time when my friends were around, I found that it moves much too slowly) almost everyone had left except for Hinata and Sakura. Naruto was trying to convince Hinata to stay longer and Sakura was flipping through one of the ancient books stacked on a coffee table next to one of the many tall windows that lined the room.

I sighed, listening to Naruto was starting to freak me out and Sakura clearly wasn't going to say anything anytime soon.

"Ouch! Damn paper cut!" Sakura exclaimed, breaking the relative silence (Naruto was talking too quietly for anyone (that wasn't a vampire) to hear if they were standing more than two feet away from him).

Naruto and Hinata looked cautiously from Sakura to me. I didn't know what Sakura's face looked like right now. Every muscle in my body was rigid and tense. My fangs elongated and poked my tongue. I didn't dare breath or look at Sakura; either one would cause her death. Forget frying pans, the scent slammed into me like a five ton sledge hammer.

I heard Naruto say hastily, "You're right Hinata; it's getting late. Maybe you and Sakura should head home."

"H-Hai. Ja ne Naruto, Sasuke. C-C'mon S-Sakura," Hinata's near silent voice was screaming in my ears.

For a brief second I felt Sakura's gaze burn into me. I didn't dare look up to see what was in those emerald eyes of hers. Hers and Hinata's footsteps neared the door and faded off down the halls. I had to lock my knees and dig my nails into my palms to prevent myself from following them.

Once the girls were long gone, Naruto opened a window. Fresh, clean air replaced the tainted air, and I allowed myself to relax.

Naruto looked stared at me, hard and serious. "I think it's time you and I went hunting," He finally said.

I took in a cleansing breath of fresh air. "Hn," I muttered in agreement.

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Sakura's POV:

Worry clawed at my insides. My mind kept flashing back to images of a rigid Sasuke, as motionless as stone. I wasn't worried for myself, as most people who had come within inches of dying at the hands of a vampire would be. No, I was worried for the vampire who had almost killed me. He was put through that much agony, all because I got a stupid paper cut!

"D-Don't worry, S-Sakura-chan. I'm s-sure everything will b-be fine," Hinata said in a soothing voice. I had to admit, Hinata had a talent for knowing when someone was troubled. Of course, even though she was right doesn't mean that she had the right reasoning.

"Yeah," I muttered in response. The black haired girl beside me didn't deserve to be put through the negativity that was probably radiating off of me.

We walked along the sidewalk a little longer before we came to an intersection. "Well, this is where we part ways," I said, trying to be cheerful, "Thanks again Hinata."

"N-No problem," She replied, "I'll t-talk to you t-tomorrow." I nodded and watched Hinata turn right and disappear around another corner. I sighed and crossed the street.

I knew that I had already missed dinner but that was no big deal, I called and told my parents hours ago. However, it was getting dark out, there was nobody around, and the streetlights still weren't coming on. _That_ seemed like a problem to me, given what supernatural species actually lives around here.

As if on cue, a large figure swooped down from above me just as I was walking past an alley. The figure slammed into me, sending me hurtling through the air until I slammed into the ground on my back. I landed in the darkened alley where there were shattered pieces of glass scattered on the ground that thoroughly cut up my back.

The figure was on top of me now, kneeling on my legs and holding my arms against the ground. The only things I could distinguish from the darkness were the stone walls of the alley, towering above my head and the bloody eyes that were just above mine.

The vampire above me didn't say anything, just breathed deeply, taking in the scent of the blood that was streaming out of my back. I think that scared me more than hearing its voice would have. My eyes were wide and my heart was missing beats.

I could feel the tips of the vampire's fangs poking at my neck when _WHOOSH_ three shadows plunged into the alley, one of which slammed into the vampire on top of me, successfully knocking it into the wall. I was vaguely aware of a metallic tearing sound, followed be the sound of some sort of liquid flowing through a nearby storm drain.

"How is she?" A familiar voice asked. It sounded wrong somehow. Whoever it was wasn't normally this worried.

Cool fingers brushed along my cheek and around my neck, "She's fine," A shaky voice stated. This one was slightly cooler.

"Let's get her out of here," The fist voice stated, already seeming to move away.

The second person lifted me up onto their back muttering, "Hold on tight Sakura," to me, and, "Make sure that cat is following us. Salina'll kill us if she gets lost."

My mind was starting to go a little fuzzy so I couldn't really comprehend everything that was being said. However, when the person carrying me started running I figured out that I had to hang on for dear life.

Wind was hitting me square on in the face and my hair was whipping around like it was made of tentacles. Clearly, we weren't going at human speed. My stomach was churning and I thought I might be sick if it didn't end soon. Still, I felt safe. I didn't feel like I was going to die. In fact, if I wasn't injured and have unconscious, I might have found this fun.

At last, it ended. The last things I heard before I dozed off were the soft knocking on a door, and hurried footsteps.

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**AHA! It's done!!! I had a lot of trouble making this chapter as long as it was, but I did it! The next chapter will be longer, I promise. I have it planned out and I might even have to break it into two chapters. Thanks for sticking with me (if you did, that is), I really appreciate it. One question: how did I do writing in Sasuke's pov?**

**Read and Review! It's the golden rule!**

**~spirit**


	9. Angels and Demons Part 1

**I really didn't expect to start writing tonight but whatever…it's a pleasant surprise. Sorry it took so long (as always). I don't really feel like babbling right now so I'm just gonna say happy new year and get on with the disclaimer.**

**disclaimer- ****(wahoo) I don't own Naruto. I own the plot of this story, Keo, and Salina. Skye belongs to falling demon.**

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Sakura's POV:

I was sitting on a train, watching an endless number of trees flash by in a green blur. The seat was uncomfortable and made out of wood. There was an odd chill in the air, as if someone had left the air conditioner on for too long. As far as I could tell no one was in the car but me.

A moment later, a familiar black cat walked in and perched itself on the seat across from me. Uninterested, I rested my chin on me hand and gazed out the window. It blinked a few times, then said, "Sakura, wake up. You've been asleep for nine friggin' hours!"

That made me look up at the cat. I rubbed my eyes and all of a suddenly the scene had changed. I was lying on the couch in Salina and Skye's house. I sat upright and Tokama, Salina's cat, leaped gracefully off my lap.

TenTen, Skye and Anko walked in and grinned at me. "Welcome back to the world of the living," The latter joked.

I fought a smile as I replied, "It's good to be back. Now what am I doing here?"

"How much do you know?" Skye asked, plopping down on the couch in front of me. Anko turned for the stairs, whistling.

"That I was attacked by a vampire last night and three people saved me. At least, there were three figures. Only two of them talked," I explained the best I could. My brain was still a little jumbled.

"Huh. That's basically it," Skye mused, standing up and pretending she was going to leave.

"Hold it," I said, grabbing her wrist and yanking her back onto the couch, "I'm not leaving until you explain."

We both grinned at each other for a moment before she explained. "Like you said, you were attacked by a vampire. Naruto and Sasuke found you just in time and killed the guy. They brought you here because it wouldn't exactly be a good sign to your parents if Sasuke showed up at your door carrying you fast asleep with cuts all over your back."

"True," I mumbled, "So they think that I'm sleeping over here?" I was answered by a nod before I continued. "So who was the third figure?"

"That was Tokama. She picked up your scent and found Naruto and Sasuke. They were actually headed the opposite direction when she found them," Skye explained laughing a little. I had to admit, the concept of a cat going for help, _was_ pretty amusing.

Turning my gaze to TenTen, I asked, "And what are you doing here?"

She grinned at me as she replied, "Two reasons; one, I heard about what happened and came to see if you were alright, and two, I'm hiding from Ino."

"And you're hiding from Ino because…?"

The brunette in front of me seemed reluctant to answer, "She's trying to get me to go on a date with Neji…"

Just to mess with her, I asked in a shocked tone of voice, "And why won't you go?!"

As I expected, she groaned and shouted, "Not you too!" This effectively caused Skye to fall over laughing.

"Alright, I have to get going," I said a moment later, tossing the blanket off and walking towards her front door, "Thanks for everything."

"No problem; see you later," She replied, disappearing up the stairs, calling Anko.

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Sakura's POV:

When I pulled into the driveway (Salina had brought my car from Sasuke's house to hers last night) I noticed that my dad's car was gone, which meant he was either at work or golfing.

Mom always forgets to lock the front door so I walked in and shouted, "I'm home!"

Over the music coming from the living room, I guessed she was painting (my mom is an artist). I heard her say 'hello' before I trudged upstairs.

After a hot shower and changing clothes, my cell phone rang. I considered letting it go to voicemail but changed my mind seconds later.

"Hello?" I asked. It was too late for me to look at the caller id before I answered the phone.

A friendly woman's voice chimed through the receiver. "Sakura? Hi, it's Mikoto."

"Oh hi. Is something wrong?" I asked cautiously, an image of Sasuke in pain flashed through my mind.

"No, of course not. I was just wondering if you would mind coming over to help out in say, an hour or so."

"Sure, I don't mind. I'll see you later," I replied, grateful that nothing had happened. It was sort of stupid that I was worried about him. He was immortal for crying out loud, it's not like he's going to get sick and die.

"Alright. Thank you Sakura," Mikoto sang, hanging up after she was done speaking.

I walked downstairs and into the room where my mom was still working. She had apparently just started before I got home because there wasn't much on the canvas. Her hair was tied up in a messy bun and she was wearing old jeans and a t-shirt that were both worn out and paint covered. I turned down the music a little bit and sat cross legged on the couch.

"How was your night, sweetheart?" She asked, glancing over her shoulder to smile at me briefly.

"It was fine. Sorry it was late notice though," I added, just in case she was upset with me.

"It's okay," She said. Her tone made it clear that I was off the hook.

After a moment, Mom set her paintbrush and sat on the couch beside me. "Hey Sakura, are you dating that Uchiha boy, Sasuke?"

"What?!" I sputtered, utterly shocked. My friends had only been over here a couple of times and she had already singled him out?!

"It's not that there's anything wrong with that. He seems perfectly nice," She assured me quickly before continuing. "It's just that I've noticed you've been spending a lot of time around him lately."

I didn't know what to say. I couldn't lie to my mom and say that I was or wasn't dating him. We were just too close for that. But the problem was, I didn't know _what _Sasuke and I were.

"I can't really give you a definite answer on that one," I finally admitted. My mom smiled at me knowingly.

"That fine sweetheart, I just thought I'd ask before your father did. You just tell me when you know for sure."

"Okay Mom," I said, standing up and kissing her on the cheek. "I have to go though. Mrs. Uchiha called and asked me to come over and help."

I hardly waited for my mom to say goodbye before rushing out the door and walking down the street.

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I walked down the street calmly, knowing there was no reason to rush. About halfway to the Uchiha Manor, I noticed a familiar figure weaving among the crowd.

"Salina!" I shouted a few times. On the third try, the girl whirled around, smiling and waving once she noticed me.

"I take it you're going to Sasuke and Naruto's house?" She asked once I reached her.

"Yeah, and you?"

"The same. Wanna walk together?" I asked.

Salina shrugged indifferently. "Sure," she said, "As long as you don't mind taking a quick detour first." I shook my head and she motioned me to follow her around the corner instead of going straight (the direction of the Uchiha mansion).

After walking for a while in silence, Salina asked me, "How's your back?"

I remembered the broken glass I had fallen on last night and gasped. My back didn't hurt at all. Come to think of it, there weren't even scars or cuts on my back when I had gotten in the shower earlier.

Realizing that Salina was waiting for my response and watching my reaction, I managed to state in a calm but confused tone, "Perfect, surprisingly."

"Skye healed it last night," Salina remarked, "She's really good at healing things. I think her dad taught her."

"You're lucky Tokama found Sasuke and Naruto when she did. Otherwise they would've been to far away to get to you in time," She mused quietly. I didn't pay much mind to it, I already knew I was lucky to be alive, but something she said made me stop in my tracks.

"What do you mean too far away?"

The younger girl turned and blinked at me. "Sasuke and Naruto left last night," She said calmly, "After everyone left their place they packed up to go hunting."

"Oh," I mumbled. Something inside me felt empty knowing Sasuke wasn't around. "When will they be back?" I asked hopefully.

Salina furrowed her brow to show me that she was thinking and continued walking. "They should be back sometime this afternoon. Early evening at the latest," She finally concluded.

My uneasiness was quieted at that fact. But there wasn't much time to dwell on that as Salina stopped in front of a large wrought iron gate, indicating that this was their destination.

The gateway was tall and graceful. Beyond that was a wonderful garden and a stone path that led up to a grand Victorian style mansion. Ivy grew up the sides of it like it did on my house. However, this building's elegance was something that could only have been picked up in a different century. Tranquility seemed to emanate off of every sun touched surface.

Salina stuck her hand in her back and pulled out an iron key. She placed it into the keyhole on the lock and turned it easily. As she did, I felt a sort of change in energy. It was faint, but after spending so much time with two witches, a vampire, and a fox demon, I was able to pick it up.

Opening the get and moving aside to let me through, Salina whispered, "There are protective spells on this place." I smiled a little bit, proud to know that I was right about the magic around here.

Salina glided up the stone pathway, passing through a gate on the side of the house and leading me to the backyard (which was just as magnificent as the front). I trailed behind her, noticing how comfortable she was here. It was almost as if she was returning home after being away for a long time.

Finally, we came up to a corner of the yard. An old cherry blossom tree stood tall, shading two headstones. Both of which seemed fairly well preserved.

I watched Salina approach the graves quietly. She removed two flowers and some incense from her back and arranged them in front of the tombstones. She clasped her hands together in prayer for a minute or two and then turned to me.

"These are my grandparents' graves," Salina announced.

I sat next to her and bowed my head in respect before asking her, "Is this their house?"

"Yeah. I used to come here all the time when I was little," I hear the distance in her voice as she spoke. "When they died, they left everything they had to me."

I didn't say anything after that; not that there was really much to say anyway.

A few minutes passed before Salina jumped up and grinned at me. "Well, we should probably get going. Mikoto will be wondering where we are."

I nodded, standing up and turning in the direction of the gate. Salina stopped me before I could take a step and said, "I'm sick of walking for now; it's too slow."

I couldn't help but agree with her there. The witch grinned at me and a second later, everything around me disappeared into a blur. When everything came to a halt, we were standing in the entryway of the Uchiha mansion, directly in front of the grand staircase.

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Three and a Half Hours Later, Normal POV:

Sakura sat one the bed in the room she always changed in for work. She swung her legs quietly, examining the dress she was wearing. Why was she wearing a fancy dress? She really didn't know.

She had been setting up some kind of decorations in the ballroom of the Uchiha Mansion when Mikoto had come in and rushed her up here. Mikoto hastily told Sakura to get changed, keep the windows locked, and stay in the room. Before the pink haired teenager could ask what was going on, Mikoto nudged her into the bedroom and shut the door. Sakura turned and saw a plastic bag over what she expected was the dress along with hair products and makeup strewn along the dresser. Deciding she would find out what was going on sooner or later, Sakura went to the dresser and started working on her hair.

So there she sat, bored out of her mind and still as clueless as ever. The cherry blossom glanced out the window. It was dusk. Salina had told her that Sasuke would be back that afternoon and still nothing. Sakura knew it was ridiculous for her to be worried, but she was anxious to see him again.

Out of nowhere, Sakura felt another presence in the room. It was familiar, but she couldn't quite place it.

"Sakura."

The pink haired girl gasped and whipped around.

"Sasuke?!"

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**Well, that concludes this chapter. I wanted to get it up last week but I went on a school trip that was out of state (we were there for a few days and then I had to make up the homework). Oh well, better late than never…**

**I promise I will make the next chapter longer!**

**Read and Review,**

**~spirit**

**P.S: I didn't proofread this, so if you see any errors, feel free to tell me.**


	10. FYI

****

I AM NOT YET DEAD, I CAN DANCE AND I CAN SING. I AM NOT YET DEAD, I CAN DO THE HIGHLAND KLING. I AM NOT YET DEAD, NO NEED TO GO TO BED. NO NEED TO CALL THE DOCTOR 'CUZ I'M NOT YET DEAD! (song/lyrics property of Spamalot, one of the funniest musicals on the planet.) Alright, but seriously, I'm not dead. I was in a play and then I've just been catching up. Unfortunately, my year won' t be winding down for a couple of weeks and my school year won't end for another week or two at the end. I am trying to get this written with any spare time I can scrounge up, but I don't quite know how to organize my ideas for **Red Blood, Black Rose** so it could take a bit. Please stay with me, I am determined to finish this story. And as proof! here is a scrap of what I have so far!

**Disclaimer:**** I don't own Naruto. Keo and Salina are mine.**

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_Sakura sat one the bed in the room she always changed in for work. She swung her legs quietly, examining the dress she was wearing. Why was she wearing a fancy dress? She really didn't know._

_She had been setting up some kind of decorations in the ballroom of the Uchiha Mansion when Mikoto had come in and rushed her up here. Mikoto hastily told Sakura to get changed, keep the windows locked, and stay in the room. Before the pink haired teenager could ask what was going on, Mikoto nudged her into the bedroom and shut the door. Sakura turned and saw a plastic bag over what she expected was the dress along with hair products and makeup strewn along the dresser. Deciding she would find out what was going on sooner or later, Sakura went to the dresser and started working on her hair._

_So there she sat, bored out of her mind and still as clueless as ever. The cherry blossom glanced out the window. It was dusk. Salina had told her that Sasuke would be back that afternoon and still nothing. Sakura knew it was ridiculous for her to be worried, but she was anxious to see him again._

_Out of nowhere, Sakura felt another presence in the room. It was familiar, but she couldn't quite place it. _

"_Sakura."_

_The pink haired girl gasped and whipped around._

"_Sasuke?!"_

Normal POV:

Sakura was gaping at the young boy in complete shock. Sasuke merely lifted an eyebrow and inquired, "Who were you expecting?"

The cherry blossom got a hold of herself and shrugged. "No one, I just heard that you were out hunting. But if that were true, then what are you doing here?"

Sasuke smirked in amusement, "I live here."

Sakura frowned at him in irritation. "That's not what I meant. What are you doing _in this room_?"

"I couldn't let you sit here alone all night," He replied simply, "Now come on, we're already late."

Sakura was about to persist in her interrogation, but Sasuke was already at the door, looking at her over his shoulder expectantly. Silently, Sakura walked up to him and slowly took the arm he offered her.

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	11. Angels and Demons Part 2

**Huh… I have absolutely no idea what to say here…so yeah…**

**Disclaimer:**** I don't own Naruto. Keo and Salina are mine.**

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_Sakura sat on the bed in the room she always changed in for work. She swung her legs quietly, examining the dress she was wearing. Why was she wearing a fancy dress? She really didn't know._

_She had been setting up some kind of decorations in the ballroom of the Uchiha Mansion when Mikoto had come in and rushed her up here. Mikoto hastily told Sakura to get changed, keep the windows locked, and stay in the room. Before the pink haired teenager could ask what was going on, Mikoto nudged her into the bedroom and shut the door. Sakura turned and saw a plastic bag over what she expected was the dress along with hair products and makeup strewn along the dresser. Deciding she would find out what was going on sooner or later, Sakura went to the dresser and started working on her hair._

_So there she sat, bored out of her mind and still as clueless as ever. The cherry blossom glanced out the window. It was dusk. Salina had told her that Sasuke would be back that afternoon and still nothing. Sakura knew it was ridiculous for her to be worried, but she was anxious to see him again._

_Out of nowhere, Sakura felt another presence in the room. It was familiar, but she couldn't quite place it. _

"_Sakura."_

_The pink haired girl gasped and whipped around._

"_Sasuke?!"_

Normal POV:

Sakura was gaping at the boy in complete shock. Sasuke merely lifted an eyebrow and inquired, "Who were you expecting?"

The cherry blossom got a hold of herself and shrugged. "No one, I just heard that you were out hunting. But if that were true, then what are you doing here?"

Sasuke smirked in amusement, "I live here."

Sakura frowned at him in irritation. "That's not what I meant. What are you doing _in this room_?"

"I couldn't let you sit here alone all night," He replied simply, "Now come on, we're already late."

Sakura was about to persist in her interrogation, but Sasuke was already at the door, looking at her over his shoulder expectantly. Silently, Sakura walked up to him and slowly took the arm he offered her.

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Sakura's POV:

Sasuke led me through the hallway and down the massive staircase that led to the main foyer, which was, for the first time that I knew of, having its size put to good use.

The crystal chandeliers dangling from the high ceiling were lit and cast ample bright light to every corner of the room and the heavy velvet curtains were drawn back to reveal the moonlight gleaming through the tall windows. However, none of this compared to the crowd below.

An innumerable quantity of people filled the room to the brim. People in extravagant evening gowns and well-designed suits talked and laughed, holding glasses of champagne while others danced breathtakingly to the orchestra music that was seemingly coming out of thin air.

As Sasuke continued to lead me through the crowds of people, I noticed that each face I passed was extremely pale……And why was some of the champagne red?

"Sasuke," I said in a hushed tone. He looked at me questioningly, a hint of worry in his eyes when he noticed my volume level.

"Are the people here…vampires?"

I was almost embarrassed that I sounded concerned. Never before had I been known to fear supernatural creatures, but when you find out that you're in a room filled with people who would tear you apart from one paper cut, one tends to get a little uneasy.

The corner of Sasuke's mouth lifted a tad, and I assumed it was in amusement.

"I believe there are some other creatures in the mix, but yes, for the most part, everyone here is a vampire."

Before I could reply, a scowl shoved Sasuke's smirk away from his face. An instant later, Itachi was standing in front of us, seemingly ignorant of his younger brother's glare.

"Sakura, I'm glad to see you came. You look stunning tonight," He said calmly, taking my hand and kissing the back of it softly.

As I stuttered out a jumbled 'thank you,' I noticed two things: first, that Sasuke had gone completely stiff when Itachi had taken my hand; second, that I wanted to scream in terror at such a harmlessly polite gesture.

When Itachi straightened up and let go of my hand, there was a strange glint in his eye; a sort of I-know-something-that-you-don't kind of shine with a dark and demented twist. A knot formed in my stomach as I remembered the girl from our school.

Itachi hadn't even taken three steps away from us before Sasuke sucked in a deep breathe and brought me to see his parents. Mikoto was exceedingly glad to see me on Sasuke's arm and kept complimenting me on 'how utterly gorgeous I was' (At this point I was really beginning to wonder why everyone in Sasuke's family kept saying this to me and why people lowered their voices when Sasuke and I walked by). After a few minutes of conversation, Sasuke whisked me off through one of the many side doors, down another staircase and out to the terrace.

The scene was completely different, and yet the exact same. Paper lanterns seemed to float over a crowd of elegantly dressed people, all of whom were mingling or dancing (this time to songs from this century that, yet again, seemed to come from nowhere). However, this time, the throng of people was no longer composed of adults, but teenagers.

"My mom figured out a long time ago that teenagers and classical music don't always mix, so every time she throws a huge party, she arranges for a "Teen Ball" as she likes to call it." Sasuke explained before I could ask. Despite what he had told me previously, I was truly beginning to believe that he could read my mind.

We wandered around for a while before I noticed that Sasuke's arm was still entwined with my own.

"Um Sasuke? Why are you still holding onto my arm?" I asked feebly, hoping that the question wouldn't offend him without really realizing that Sasuke wasn't the kind of person who was offended easily.

He rose and eyebrow at me and looked solidly into my eyes. "Like I said before, most of the people around here are vampires. If you were alone right now, it wouldn't take long for someone to pull you aside and suck you dry." Sasuke seemed to notice my unease at his bluntness because he added, "As long as you're with me though, you're safe. None of the people you see here would dare mess with me. The exception to that would be Naruto, but he'd sooner commit suicide before hurting you."

I laughed once at his half hearted joke when Salina seemed to pop up out of nowhere.

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Normal POV:

Salina didn't waste anytime when she reached them.

"Hey Sakura! Sorry that you had to be locked upstairs so long, but Sasuke was late and I couldn't find my extra charm bracelet."

Sakura stared at her in confusion before asking, "What's the charm bracelet for?" The cherry blossom already knew that Salina usually had some sort of reason for most things she carried around, so she automatically figured it wasn't just an accessory.

"It has a special spell on it that repels supernatural creatures. That way, no one can come up and have you for dinner. 'Cept maybe Sasuke, 'cuz the spell doesn't include him or Naruto, but there's not even a chance of him doing that."

As Salina was talking, she had magically produced an embroidered cloth. She quickly unwrapped the fabric to reveal a black leather bracelet (that actually looked nothing like a charm bracelet so Sakura assumed it was just a name) with a gleaming red jewel and hastily tied it onto Sakura's wrist.

Sakura examined it for a moment before glancing at Salina and inquiring, "Why aren't you wearing one?"

The young girl didn't miss a beat as she replied, "I'm a witch, so my blood is poisonous to vampires."

During the brief silence, Salina noticed a dim, flickering light go on in mansion through the corner of her eye.

"I just remembered I have to do something," She said distractedly before turning to Sasuke and Sakura with a grin. "You probably have another two minutes to enjoy yourselves before Ino and the others find out you're here."

With that, Salina turned and strode off, disappearing into the crowd. Before Sasuke could stop her (as he had noticed her sudden urgency to get away), Naruto charged up to them with his signature grin on his face and Hinata in tow.

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TenTen squeezed her way through a horde of closely packed vampires, only to trip and fall flat on her face the moment she was free. Damn vampires….

"Need a hand?" The familiar voice came from above her, and when she looked up, she was torn between dread and glee to find that it was Neji.

Sucking up her unease, she took his outstretched hand, allowing him to pull her up and away from the growing crowd. They stood next to each other for a while, watching the teenage vamps in front of them dance their hearts out in utter silence.

A moment later, to TenTen's immense shock, Neji was the first to say something.

"TenTen, do you remember that conversation we had that night everyone was locked in the school?"

'Very formal and straight to the point; he must be nervous,' the brunette thought with a tiny spurt of amusement. Neji only talked to her in that formal tone when he was uneasy. Then TenTen actually remembered what they had both said in the school and understood his discomfort.

"Yeah, I guess so, why?" She replied, looking at him curiously. She already knew why, of course, but she couldn't help but wonder how the great Neji Hyuuga would go about asking a girl out.

The white eyed boy was stiff and speechless for a moment or two before he finally composed himself and stated with careful clarity, "You never specified _what_ you wanted us to be right now."

"Right," I grimaced, "Ino's been bugging me to go out with you." I said this last part with distaste, looking back at the crowd instead of Neji's eyes. I already knew that he was mentally preparing himself for a rejection.

"I see," He began, his tone sounded like he was trying to speak when he was losing his voice. I cut him off before he could continue his formal I-won't-bug-you-anymore-since you-won't-date-me rant.

"That does _not_ mean that I'm turning you down," Neji visibly released a silent sigh of relief at this, "I just don't want to be forced into anything. So as long as you don't pressure me every waking moment like a certain boy-crazed maniac I know, we can officially start dating right now if you want."

Neji didn't say anything. He didn't smile either. The corner of his mouth simply lifted into a rare smirk-like half-smile, which told TenTen that yes, he did want that.

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Skye wandered around the endless mass of people, waving and smiling at some of the people she had come to know growing up. She had just walked away from Sakura and the others (who had by now tracked her and Sasuke down and mobbed them as soon as the two were in sight) to try and hunt down some food (she knew there was a refreshment table around here somewhere…) when a tall figure blocked her path.

"Deidara? Why the hell are you out here? Shouldn't you be with the rest of the Akatsuki?" The now irate girl huffed. There was _no way_ that this Blondie was getting the best of her tonight. Not after he got her to admit she was falling for him in that damn school hallway.

Said 'Blondie' was completely unperturbed, if not amused by her anger.

"I had something to do down here first…yeah" He stated, staring her down with a smirk that could melt anyone who wasn't used to it.

Skye tried listening to the slow song that was playing to help her appear uninterested as she inquired, "And what would that be?"

"Simple," He replied airily, suddenly reaching out and taking her hand in one of his and her waist with the other. "I'm not going to let you leave my side until you agree to go on a date with me…hn."

Several strings of curses and death threats flowed through Skye's mind at his words, but she knew that this wasn't the best place to make a scene. So she tried to content herself with shooting him a steady string of fatal glares while he continued to grin at her, moving her along to the music.

The song hadn't even ended when she huffed and muttered, "Fine. Pick me up at seven next Friday; I don't really care where we go. But it is _**not**_ a date!" She said the last part with so much malice that most people (who had never had the misfortune of coming in contact with her rage) would have fainted.

Deidara merely grinned a little wider, released her, and replied with a cheeky, "Fair enough…yeah," before he disappeared in the direction of the mansion.

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Salina had been wandering the halls for at least half an hour trying to figure out where the light was coming from. She may have practically grown up here, but that didn't change the fact that there were countless rooms with numerous windows leading in just about every direction.

Just when she was about to give up, a heavy set of footsteps came from around the corner. She quickly cast an anti-detection charm on herself (she found that simple invisibility spells by themselves didn't help you much when you were in a house full of vampires that could sniff you out in a heartbeat) and backed up to the wall as Deidara stalked past her with an expression that stated he was trying to cover up his joy about something and replace a grin with a serious look.

The young witch trailed silently behind him, stopping at the doorway when he slipped into the library. Luckily for Salina, the door stayed open a crack so she could just barely peek inside.

There was a group of people huddled around a reading desk. She couldn't quite tell who they were or how many people there were though, since the single candle that was lit on the desk didn't even cast enough light to reach the closest bookshelves, let alone illuminate the faces enough for her to make out.

"Your late," I voice stated emotionlessly. A sensation like cold, wet fingers running along her spine immediately informed Salina that the voice belonged to Itachi.

"'Doesn't look like I've missed much…hn," Deidara replied glumly, joining the circle.

"No, you've already seen the passage," Itachi replied, gesturing to what Salina assumed was a book. However, she was still a little freaked at how the rest of the silhouettes didn't talk, let alone move.

"So you're sure that your Sasuke and Sakura are the ones…yeah?"

"Yes. The plan is in order, so we simply have to wait for the proper time."

Apparently, this sentence ended the meeting. The book slammed shut and was put back in place while the candle was snuffed out by a pair of gloved fingers. Salina had to leap out of the way to avoid the getting hit by the door as the people exited. In the moonlight streaming the windows, Salina could distinguish the figures of all the Akatsuki members and a few more that she assumed were also members, just not the ones everyone at her school knew about.

Salina waited at least five minutes after they disappeared to creep into the library. She cast a sort of fingerprint spell that led her to the book that they had been examining (it was a crusty leather bound book shoved in the back of the room) and showed her the page and passage. The young girl scanned it over, then, feeling sick to her stomach, clutched the book more tightly and read the passage thoroughly:

**Centuries ago, a young prince of the Vampire Monarchy created the base to an amazing and grueling discovery.**

**An activist for vampire/human interaction, it was no surprise when the Prince had fallen in love with a human girl (and a meager peasant at that). That morning after he drank her blood, the Prince found his strength had exponentially increased (which he then used to end a rather bloody war that threatened to expose our kind).**

**Later, another vampire, who was awestruck by the Prince's newfound power, bit the girl, thinking that her blood gave vampires power. He too gained immense strength, though it was not as much as the Prince had.**

**After that, one more vampire bit the girl, this time out of bloodlust. Unlike the first and second however, nothing about him changed. The only difference was that the third vampire died instantly of poisoning.**

**Through this experience, multiple findings have been made. It has been proved that if a vampire of royal descent bites a human (due to affections to said human) without changing them or out of bloodlust or thirst, that human's blood will then have the ability to grant vampires who drink it enormous power. However, this power comes at a price. If the blood is drunk purely out of thirst, the drinker shall die instantaneously.**

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**Oooooohh……I wonder what's gonna happen next…Seriously, I'm still working on that. But it's done!!! Wohoo!**

**I need help though! I desperately need ideas for some kind of Naruto/Hinata thing because my mind is at a blank!**

**reviews are well loved,**

**~spirit**


	12. Distress

**I must say, that I didn't expect to start writing the next chapter the day after I just posted one. I thought it would take much longer for me to even figure out what would happen in this chapter! However, some of the reviews I got really helped and made me want to continue writing.**

**Thank you reviewers! I swear, this is where the story gets good.**

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own Naruto. Keo and Salina are products of my own imagination.**

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Normal POV:

Salina stood gaping at the crusty pages of the book until the shock began to wear off. She scanned through the remaining passages, finding little that could be of use now that she knew what she did: Itachi was going to use Sasuke and Sakura to gain power. But what would he use it for?

Seeing no point in staying there any longer, the young witch shut the book and returned it to its dusty home.

Salina hadn't taken two steps after closing the library doors behind her when an icy hand clamped around her neck and slammed her into the wall. The figure lifted Salina off the ground to his eye level (the man was much taller than herself) and she discovered that it was Itachi.

His flaming red eyes burned into her as he stated calmly, "I would appreciate it if you kept your little trip to the library a secret. It would be a shame if something unfortunate were to happen to you because your mouth slipped."

Itachi's grip tightened around her neck and she swore that he was going to kill her right there. Salina squeezed her eyes shut as her lungs screamed for air and she waited for death, but then his hand disappeared and she was dropped to the ground, trembling.

Propping herself against the wall, Salina opened her eyes to see that she was alone. Before she could bring herself to walk back to the ball, Salina nervously contemplated just how grim her fate would be if she told someone about what she knew.

The thought of the consequences made her want to scream in sheer horror.

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Sasuke's POV:

Throughout the evening, Sakura and I had been endlessly (and rather annoyingly) bombarded by friends and family. It wasn't until everyone had left that I was finally able to get her to my car to drive her home.

I noticed that Sakura was unusually quiet, but I brushed it off, thinking that she was simply tired from the long night. However, when I pulled into her driveway, I noticed she hesitated as if she was debating whether or not to ask something.

"Is something wrong," I asked, trying not to sound as impatient as I really was.

She didn't say anything at first, which gave me too much time to dwell on just how –in my friends' words— stunning Sakura looked. Not to mention how inviting she smelled.

"Sasuke," She finally said, turning to look me in the eye. "What are we?"

"What do you mean?" I asked blatantly, vaguely wondering if she was exhausted enough to forget that she was a human and I was a vampire.

"What are we?" She repeated, before going on. "Are we just friends, are we dating, what?"

My questioning expression was replaced by a slight frown as I replied, "Hn, that's a good question…"

Now that she had brought it up, my mind began to whirl into a confusing mass of uncertainty. I wasn't stupid enough not to notice that I was beginning to fall in love with her, but was it really worth the risk? I wasn't really concerned about controlling myself around her; I've been doing that for plenty of time now. It was the looming fact that my family had enemies; enemies that would use anything to get to us.

As if she could read my mind, Sakura frowned at me and stated, "If you're worried about me getting hurt, you shouldn't. I can take care of myself. Besides, it's not like you, or any of the others for that matter, would let anything happen to me."

I closed my eyes for a brief moment before opening them to glance at her through the corner of my eye with a smirk. "Fine then; would you like to go out sometime?"

Grinning, she leaned towards me and replied, "I'd love to."

I didn't have to fight an ecstatic smile like I thought I would because Sakura had already pressed her lips to mine. I kissed her back, half thinking that one of our friends would randomly pop up and knock on the window and ruin the moment at any second.

To my unseen surprise, no one showed up. Sakura broke away after a while and slipped out the car door with a simple 'goodnight'. She was about to shut it when she paused and stuck her head back in.

"Oh and Sasuke, thanks for tonight, you wouldn't believe how much it meant to me."

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The Next Day:

After the ball, Salina had been so skittish that she literally found herself on the brink of shrieking every time a loud noise resounded in her house (which, unfortunately for her, was rather common). So it wasn't much of a surprise when Salina nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of the doorbell.

"Salina, could you get that?! I can't find my other shoe!" Skye shouted, frantic that she was running late and confused because she had just seen that damn shoe two seconds ago.

"Try under you bed or in my room!" The younger girl hollered back, sliding off her chair and walking to the door while trying not to laugh when she spotted said shoe by the doorframe. She opened it to reveal Deidara, the person she had expected (although somewhat dreaded) to see.

"Hey Deidara," She said absently, already turning around and heading for her chair, "Come one in. Skye'll be down in a second, once she finds her 'magically' disappearing shoe."

The blonde man muttered a half-hearted 'thanks' and stepped inside, standing rather uncomfortably by the door.

Salina had just begun sketching again when she remembered the way Deidara had spoken to Itachi the previous night and a thought occurred to her.

"Deidara?"

"Yeah?"

"You don't like Itachi very much, do you?"

Deidara stared at her for a second in a rather shell-shocked silence. "What kind of question is that…hn?" He asked sharply.

Salina looked him square in the eye for the first time that day and replied solemnly, "Just answer it, please."

"Well, I can't say that I really enjoy hanging around him, but it's not like I ever really had a choice…yeah," He finally answered, after scratching the back of his head and wondering what the hell could've brought this on.

"One more thing," Salina stated, turning back to her sketchbook, "Will you do me a favor?"

Deidara narrowed his eyes suspiciously, "Depends on the favor...hn."

The carbon pencil in her hand stopped moving, hers eyes never met his as she said, "Don't hurt Skye."

The air disappeared from Deidara's lungs and he felt as if he had just taken a heavy blow to the gut. But he didn't have a chance to interrogate the young witch before Skye tumbled down the stairs.

"Alright, I cannot find my other shoe for the life of me," She claimed with a huff.

A smirk found its way onto Deidara's face as he asked, "You mean the one by the door…yeah?"

The older girl followed his gaze and let out a cry of irritation as she stuffed the shoe onto her other foot.

On the way out the door, Deidara passed that armchair Salina was stretched out on and murmured, "I could never hurt her…un."

Even if Salina had planned on replying, Deidara had already closed the front door behind him and Skye and dispelled all thoughts of his previous conversation with the young girl.

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"So now that we've solved the case of the disappearing shoe, are you ready to get going…hn?"

Skye stuck her tongue out childishly at the blonde haired man who was holding the car door open for her before taking her seat. Once Deidara had gotten into the car she muttered, "Let's just get this date over with."

Deidara's visible eyebrow lifted and with an amused smirk he commented, "So now it's a date…yeah?"

The brunette gaped at him for a second before regaining her composure.

"It is _not_ a date," She insisted coldly.

If the man was affected by her harsh tone, he didn't show it.

"Then why did you say, 'let's get this _date_ over with…hm?"

After a period of Skye arguing pointlessly that they weren't on a date, the girl cried out in frustration and half shouted, "Fine! It's a friggin' date! Are you happy now?!"

"Esctatic," was Deidara's happy reply before he paused and glanced at Skye from the corner of his eye. She had been staring at him and when their eyes clashed, she whipped her head around to look out the window.

"Are you happy…un?" He finally asked. The question had been digging away at his insides since their eyes had met and he was surprised to find that he was actually nervous for the answer.

After a short-lived silence, Skye turned back to Deidara. She was biting her lip and blushing, but that did nothing to downplay any of the relentless honesty in her eyes when she nodded. At this, Deidara found it ridiculously difficult not the shout for joy.

If you asked either of the two what they had done during their date, it's highly likely that they wouldn't have an answer for you. The reason for this was simple: After their exchange in the car, the two were much too happy to truly register anything that happened during their date other than the kiss that had ended it.

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Salina sat alone at the kitchen table, staring absentmindedly at the peanut butter sandwich in front of her, which was cut perfectly in half, completely out of habit. She had temporarily given up on worrying about her impending demise so that she may have a small chance of eating lunch without having a nervous conniption.

As if to contradict her intentions, Salina heard the front door open and shut loudly, followed by a laughing shout of "Honey, I'm home!" which nearly caused her to scream and hide under the table. Before she could do so however, Keo walked in to the room and she forgot about everything she had just been losing her sanity over.

A grin crept onto her face as she asked in a mock housewife voice, "How was work, Dear?"

Keo tossed his sweatshirt onto a chair and loosened an imaginary tie. "Absolutely horrible; nothing but endless piles of paperwork and stuffy office workers telling jokes at the water fountain that are so bad you could cry."

Salina giggled for a second before plastering a pitying look on her face and replying, "Aw, I'm sorry to hear that. Here, have a peanut butter sandwich; it'll cheer you up."

In response Keo flopped into the chair next to her and took the sandwich half she offered him. He stared at it distantly before chuckling as if he had just remembered and old joke.

"What's so funny?" Salina inquired, breaking the charade.

The boy turned the snack around in his fingers and smiled at her, still laughing a bit.

"Don't tell me you've forgotten all the times we've split one of these as kids?"

The witch's face immediately lit up in remembrance. Holding up her sandwich she said, "Cheers, to the peanut butter sandwich tradition!"

Grinning, Keo touched his sandwich to hers like he had had countless times before.

"Cheers."

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"I hope you're happy, Shikamaru," Ino snapped as they walked side by side towards her house. "This date was a catastrophe! You hardly went on any of the rides at the fair and you hardly said anything!"

Shikamaru's eyebrow twitched once in pure irritation.

"If I remember correctly, this was a test-run date," He commented lazily.

Ino emitted a short growl-like noise of exasperation before revising her words.

"Fine then, this _test-run date_ was an utter failure! Are you sure you even like me like you said you do?! 'Cuz it sure as hell doesn't seem like it."

At this point, they had reached Ino's house and were standing in the doorway. Ino was glaring up at Shikamaru, who barely seemed to register her rage.

Before Ino could complain anymore, the lazy guy seized her chin and kissed her full on the mouth. After pressing a flower into her hand, he broke off the kiss and began to walk away.

Ino stood there stunned. She gazed dumbly at the flower, thinking of her date that had suddenly ended. Images flashed of the prize he had won for her and the humorous times she had found herself laughing in the past few hours.

"Shikamaru!" She finally called out, suddenly finding her voice.

Said boy didn't turn around. He lifted his hand up in acknowledgment and called over his shoulder, "Talk to you later Ino!"

Unable to think of anything to say, Ino stood on her doorstep, speechless as she watched him disappear around the corner. The only thing she could do was smile at the flower and wonder if he was smiling too.

**(a/n: wow, this scene kind of sucked. I was too lazy to write out a whole date. The scene was kind of random too, but I needed to clear that up so that nobody went 'what the hell happened to Ino and Shikamaru?')**

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Sakura's POV:

When I pulled into the driveway in front of the Uchiha Manor, I was greeted by an unexpected sight. The unexpected sight being the limo by the front entrance that was currently being stuffed with a small stack of suitcases by a short, scruffy man in a white suit that I assumed was the driver. To top it all off, Mikoto and Fugaku were standing there on the steps talking quickly to Sasuke.

After parking in my usual spot (while still being careful not to block the limo's path so as not to upset the driver who already appeared to be under a fair amount of stress) I strode up to where the Uchihas were standing. When they noticed me, Mikoto turned to me with a somewhat surprised smile.

"Sakura, what are you doing here? I asked Sasuke to let you know that you had the week off since summer has just started."

I stared at her blankly for a moment and she seemed to understand that I had been told no such thing. Fugaku turned to Sasuke (to admonish him, I would assume) but didn't have time to say anything since the driver had finished pushing the limo's trunk past it's full capacity and was now holding the car door open. Before I knew it, Mikoto had hugged both me and Sasuke (while delivering heart felt goodbyes) and disappeared into the car along with Fugaku.

As the limo pulled out of the driveway, I glanced at Sasuke from the corner of my eye.

"Where are they going?"

"To meet with the council of Supernaturals; they'll be back in a week or so," He answered calmly.

"And you didn't tell me this because…?"

As I said this, the corner of Sasuke's mouth lifted into a smirk. "What point would there be in calling you to say that you're off of work but you still have to come over here?"

I rolled my eyes and led the way back inside. "So in short, you wanted me to come over here, but you were too lazy to call and tell me that?"

Sasuke released one of his rare chuckles as he took my hand and guided me towards the stairs. "Pretty much, save for the fact that I'm _not_ lazy; I just didn't feel like it."

We sat in the library for a while (which was so huge that it had multiple sets of oversized leather couches and armchairs and had soon become one of my favorite rooms) and after a few moments of talking about the ins and outs of being a vampire, I happened to look down at the charm bracelet around my wrist and remembered what Salina had said to me last night.

"_It has a special spell on it that repels supernatural creatures. That way, no one can come up and have you for dinner. 'Cept maybe Sasuke, 'cuz the spell doesn't include him or Naruto, but there's not even a chance of him doing that."_

"Earth to Sakura, come in please," Sasuke's slightly irked voice rang out in my ears. I shook my head to snap my self out of my daze and realized that I had been staring at him.

"Is something wrong?" He asked once he was sure that I was actually paying attention.

"No," I said quickly, "I was just thinking about last night."

I paused for a second, but only had to look at Sasuke to see that he was waiting for me to continue. I opened my mouth but the words came more slowly than I had anticipated. I was losing my nerve and it was making me hesitate.

"Salina said that there was no chance of you ever biting me…Is that true?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he scrutinized my own, almost as if he was trying to decipher where I was going with this.

"I think she was merely talking about the ball last night. During which, I didn't bite you, obviously."

"So does that mean you would drink my blood?"

"Only if you would let me."

For a moment I hesitated. Did I really want him drinking my blood? It's not like it would take a lot of effort to make him do so, all I had to do was say the words.

"Does it hurt?"

"That depends on three things," He said in a matter-of-fact tone. "The first, being whether or not the vampire doing the biting _wanted_ it to hurt; the second being whether or not the person struggles, which could tear the wound; and third, whether or not the vampire uses a certain venom that we posses that turns people into one of us."

"Ah."

There was an immeasurable silence that stretched between us, during which Sasuke seemed to become a tad irritated. If I had to guess, I would have to say that it was because I wasn't getting straight to my point.

"Sakura, do you _want_ me to bite you?"

My stomach clenched and my lungs suddenly felt like they were encased in a cold layer of steel. Indecision whirred about my brain at such a frightening speed that I thought I was going to faint. I glanced into Sasuke's eyes and saw that he seemed to realize how nervous I was, but the sight of him made my heart undergo a jump much like a severe drop on a roller coaster and my mind was immediately made up.

The thoughts in my head were silenced and I was relaxed as I nodded with a confident air.

A smirk came onto Sasuke's face as he beckoned me closer. I did so and he ran his fingers through my hair and stopped at the back of my head. I tilted my chin up to allow him better access to my neck.

Slowly, he inclined his head and began kissing up and down my neck. His cool breath seemed to numb my skin and cool my hyperactive nerves. He nipped my skin a few times before finally sinking his fangs into my neck.

A spasm of panic tore through me. A vampire was freaking drinking my blood!

Just as I was about to try and tear myself away, Sasuke rested his free hand on my shoulder and it slowly brought me back to the reality of the situation. I had asked Sasuke to do this, and he wouldn't hurt me. Once these thoughts crossed my mind, my whole body relaxed and the terror was replaced by a sort of quiet ecstasy.

A few moments later, Sasuke pulled back and licked the spare blood off of my skin. I was about to say something but I lost it completely when our eyes met.

It seemed that Sasuke was about to speak, when a frantic voice came from the doorway.

"Shit!"

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Sasuke's POV:

I retracted my fangs and whipped my head around to see Salina standing in the entrance to the library, apparently on the verge of hysterics. My eyebrows furrowed together. Salina had never freaked out when she saw me drinking blood before, so what was with the sudden change?

"Salina? What the hell is going on with you?"

But despite my harsh tone, she didn't seem to completely hear me.

"Shit shit shit," She muttered, taking off towards one of the far corners of the library, "This is bad, _extremely_ bad…"

I shared a baffled glance with Sakura before Salina came back with a crusty old tome in her hands. She flipped to a page in the middle and dropped it in front of us.

"What's this?" Sakura asked, seeming edgy at Salina's change of persona.

"I overheard Itachi talking last night, about you and Sasuke. I went I went in there and found this; read it, it's important."

The two of us skimmed the passage quickly and I saw Sakura's face grow paler through the corner of my eye. I understood why, I already felt like I was going to be sick.

Itachi was after her, and I had just given him exactly what he wanted.

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Normal POV:

Salina paced hastily down the steps of the Uchiha mansion. Her thoughts were in an endurance race, fighting between figuring out how to help Sakura and Sasuke and finding a way to stop Itachi from carrying out his threats on her.

With this newfound hysteria raining down on her, Sakura didn't notice the presence lurking in the shadows beside her car. She hadn't even unlocked the door when the figure lunged out, twisting her arm painfully behind her back with one hand and smothering her mouth with the other.

A deep voice as cold as death whispered in her ear.

"I told you not to let you're mouth slip."

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**OMFG it's done!!!! And it's gotten highly dramatic too! The next chapter will most likely be the last so please send me your ideas for the last chapter and for an epilogue because I have no idea what to do for the latter!**

**reviews are highly valued, as always (over a hundred, wohoo!!! (thank you sooooooo much!)**

**~seeking fireflies (my new pen name for those who didn't already know.)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hello!**

**Okay, I am going to beg you not to kill me. I know it has been ages since I've updated and I am SO SORRY! I'm not going to bother with excuses right now because I have a few important things to tell you.**

**First, I have no intention of discontinuing this story. The piece I have below this is part of the last chapter, which I am still working on. **

**Second, this chapter introduces a new character I added in on request. I have decided to make an alternate ending to this story that has a little more to do with the oc. That ending will possibly have a small epilogue to it which I will write should I decide to it.**

**Finally, once I have posted the final chapter (in both endings, mine and the one recommended to me) I will most likely send out a message regarding the story. I will be accepting applications (if that's what you want to call it, there really won't be a huge process) regarding a sequel to the story (using either ending) and/or an epilogue to my ending of the story. I don't have any ideas to continue this story beyond what I already have planned, so I will leave it up to a fan of the story who is interested in continuing it. **

**So, before I continue rambling, I present to you a scrap of my version of the final chapter.**

**Disclaimer- ****I don't own Naruto. I simply own this plot and MY oc's.**

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_Normal POV:_

_Salina paced hastily down the steps of the Uchiha mansion. Her thoughts were in an endurance race, fighting between figuring out how to help Sakura and Sasuke and finding a way to stop Itachi from carrying out his threats on her._

_With this newfound hysteria raining down on her, Salina didn't notice the presence lurking in the shadows beside her car. She had just unlocked the car door when the figure lunged out, twisting her arm painfully behind her back with one hand and smothering her mouth with the other._

_A deep voice as cold as death whispered in her ear._

"_I told you not to let your mouth slip."_

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Magneria's POV:

Pulling into the front drive to the Uchiha Mansion, I mentally patted myself on the back. After all these years I still remembered how to get here. And without crashing the car either! Ha, and Sparky thought I couldn't drive to save my life.

Hopping out of the car, I noticed a Jeep parked a little further along. I strolled up to it and peeked inside the windows and saw a worn out messenger bag with its contents strewn about the passenger seat, among them books, a cell phone, a letter, a sketch book and charcoal pencils. Salina.

"Oi! You there! What are you doing?"

My nose twitched with the familiar scent and a huge grin spread across my face. Whirling around, I shook my mass of curly black hair out of my face and fixed my gaze on Naruto.

"Hello, Stupid," I said endearingly, placing my hands on my hips.

Naruto stared at me for a second before he seemed o figure out who I was. When he did however, he ran up promptly tried to squeeze the life out of me.

"Magneria! What are you doing here?" He shouted after setting me down. After doing so, Naruto went on to ramble about how long it's been since we've seen each other. I lost interest after about 30 seconds so I turned my attention to the pale girl who was standing timidly beside the raving blonde.

"Hi! Long time no see. It's Hinata, right?"

Hinata's white eyes seem to spark with recognition as she smiled and nodded. We talked for a few more minutes before Naruto decided that I needed to go inside to see Sasuke, dragging both Hinata and me inside as he said so.

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Sakura's POV:

After Salina left, the library was completely silent. I reread the passage a few more times, soaking in the fact that by asking Sasuke to bite me, I had just given sealed both of our fates.

"Sakura," He said finally, covering his face with his hands, "I am _so_ sorry."

Before I could say anything to comfort him, Naruto burst into the room, followed by Hinata and a tiny girl with dark skin, chocolate brown eyes, and a wild mass of curly black hair that trailed down to her mid-back.

"Sasuke!"

Sasuke looked up, glaring daggers at Naruto.

"Naruto, what the hell do you-"

"Look who I found in the drive way!" The ecstatic blonde shouted, gesturing to the unknown girl.

Unlike me, Sasuke recognized her immediately.

"Magneria?"

The short girl strode into the middle of the room, grinning madly.

"Pretty Boy! You haven't changed a bit! If anything, I'd say you look even moodier than you did years ago."

Sasuke frowned, answering with his typical "hn." I laughed once and that seemed to bring the girl's attention to me because she bounced over and stretched out her hand for me to shake.

"I'm Magneria Nightstorm, and old friend of these dweebs. And you are?"

"Sakura Haruno," I told her tentatively, "I'm Sasuke's girlfriend."

Magneria's brown eyes widened for a second before she shouted out in glee.

"Pretty boy got a girlfriend?! Finally! I was beginning to think that you didn't swing that way!"

Naruto burst into laughter and even I couldn't fight a highly amused smile.

"So where's Salina? I saw her car out front," Magneria asked once Naruto stopped laughing.

Sasuke and I froze. Our eyes clashed for a heated, worrisome second before Sasuke disappeared through the door. He came back an instant later, anguish flashing in his normally stoic eyes.

"She's gone."

Naruto and Magneria asked what happened almost at the same time, but before Sasuke or I could even articulate a response, another voice resounded in the high ceilinged room.

"I'd like to know exactly the same thing."

Everyone whipped around to see Keo leaning against the doorframe. There was nothing pleasant or curious in his expression and a letter was clenched in his hand.

"I was on my way here to ask you if you noticed that Salina has been acting strangely. I found this in her car. It's from the Akatsuki. They said that if you don't hand Sakura over by sundown they'll kill Salina."

All of a sudden the world seemed morph into slow motion. In contrast, my mind whirled out of control and I was wracked with guilt. Sasuke would never comply with the letter, but if he didn't, Salina would _die_.

"Okay, what the _hell_ is going on here?" Naruto growled, finally fed up with the silence.

Sasuke, who until now had been rigid and motionless as an uncut boulder, seemed to come back to the harsh reality of the situation. He pointed to the passage in the book (which was still sitting on the table where Salina had left it) and explained everything. On the outside he was calm, cool, and collected, but underneath I could sense the anguish and fury boiling and churning underneath the surface.

"So how are we going to get her back?" Magneria asked once she was up to date.

Naruto punched a tight fist into his other hand, "Simple. We find their base and take her back by force."

"Not a problem," Keo replied, glaring at the yellowed pages of the book, "I already know where they're holding her."

**x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

Normal POV:

Salina awoke to a throbbing headache as dim rays of light pierced her eyelashes. Slowly, she opened her eyes and scanned the room. Instantly, she recognized it as her grandfather's old study. The walls were painted delicately, from a much earlier time period, and the furniture was still the same. Across from the large set of double doors was a wall composed chiefly of windows. In the middle of the room were two large armchairs and in front of them was an ornate mahogany desk. But instead of the chair behind it being empty like Salina had expected, it was occupied by Deidara, who had his feet propped up on the desk and was shuffling through a sheaf of papers, clearly bored out his mind.

After a second of staring at the blonde man, Salina remembered that she had been taken captive by Itachi, who had most likely told Deidara to keep an eye on her. When she realized that she was in immediate danger, Salina started writhing about, desperate to get away. However, the young witch realized that her wrists and ankles had been painfully bound to either end of the chaise against the wall opposite the large desk. Looking up towards her wrists, she saw a purple bruise in the shape of a handprint had formed on her right arm and a seal wrapped around her left wrist, obviously meant to prevent her from using magic to escape.

All of the noise Salina made from struggling alerted Deidara that she was awake. He dropped the papers onto the worn surface of the desk and smirked at her.

"About time you woke up…yeah."

Salina, suddenly finding herself more angry than terrified, glared at him and opened her mouth to curse him into the next millennium. But before she could, he was in front of her, kneeling down with a hand over her mouth and a finger to his lips.

"Keep it down, would ya? If they others find out you're awake, they'll come down here before I can get you out of here…un."

The young witch's eyes widened. Unsure of whether or not to trust him, she whispered, "What are you talking about Deidara?"

The blonde bit his lip, pulled out a small knife and started cutting away at the cords on Salina's wrists.

"If the Akatsuki doesn't get Sakura by sundown, they're going to kill you…hn."

Salina, at a loss for words, flashed her gaze to the windows, where the sun was already beginning to sink towards the horizon. The sky was stained a deep red and she couldn't help but think of the blood running through her veins at a panicked rate; possibly for the last time.

Once he had cut through the bindings on Salina's wrists, Deidara handed her the blade to finish cutting herself loose and moved towards the door. As Deidara conversed with someone on the other side of the door (who Salina assumed was Tobi), Salina thought of how drastically different everything was from just a few hours ago.

Earlier that D_ay:_

_Salina and Keo finished chugging down glasses of milk and slammed them down on the table._

"_Ha! I win again! After all these years I'm still the champion," Keo cheered, resting his hands on the back of his head and leaning back in his chair._

"_You wish, that was a tie," Salina retorted. She moved to push him out of his chair jokingly but he caught her wrist before she could even come close._

"_Ah, ah, ah," He teased, "that's not a part of the tradition._

"_Traditions can change," She replied, pulling her wrist back and pouting._

_Their eyes met and a second later they both started laughing._

_After a while, their laughter subsided and Keo turned to face Salina._

"_I'm curious," Keo said finally, turning to his childhood friend. Salina looked at him questioningly with those large eyes of hers and he had to take a deep breath. Her eyes got him every time he saw them._

Keo knew that Salina wasn't going to do anything until he explained, so he wasn't worried about her walking away or interrupting him. Slowly, he ran his fingers through her hair, stopping at the back of her head and touching his forehead to hers. Salina's eyes widened slightly with surprise and she was biting her lower lip, but other than that, she didn't move.

_Much to Keo's dismay, he couldn't figure out what she was thinking like he normally could. "Is this alright?" _

_Salina felt his breath fan across her face and she closed her eyes, smiling at the pleasant sensation. She knew that no matter how he felt, no matter what he wanted, the last thing Keo was ever going to do was push her too far and mess up their friendship. But suddenly, she came to the realization that friendship was no longer the farthest she wanted their relationship to go._

_On a whim, she closed the distance between them and laid her lips against his. Keo, relieved and thrilled, took her face in both of his hands and kissed her back earnestly._

_Eventually, Salina broke the kiss and leaned into him, dropping her head onto his shoulder._

"_Why the hell did we wait so long to do that?" She asked, smiling._

_Keo laughed softly, wrapping his arms around her and pressing her close._

"_I have no idea."_

x.X.x

"Okay Tobi, we're outta hear…hn."

Salina was broken from her reverie when she heard Deidara open one of the largest windows.

"What are you doing?" she asked, unraveling the chords that remained around her ankles.

"Saving your life, now hurry up, we don't have much time…yeah."

Salina stood up, blood rushing to her head and making her stumble. The blonde steadied her impatiently before snatching her roughly and hiding her under his black cloak.

A split second later, they were moving. Salina had no idea where they were going, but she figured it was better than the imminent death she had just left behind. She thought of Keo and released a deep breath. At least there was a slightly larger chance of her not dying right after they got together.

A thin shaft of light flashed briefly through the opening in Deidara's cloak, allowing Salina to see the seal that was still on her wrist. She automatically moved to tear it off, but a shock went through her when her fingers brushed the edge of it. She bit her lip to hold back a cry of shock in case any noise from her would give them away.


	14. Retribution

**I have returned from the dead! Haha, not really, but I'm sure it seems like that to some people.**

**To be entirely honest, this probably would've been sitting unfinished on my computer for a much longer time unless I hadn't gotten a review today. It was from someone called Dark Vampress who said that they thought I had been killed until they noticed that I had posted (Chapter 13). That gave me the motiviation to finally finish this chapter. So therefore, this chapter is hereby dedicated to Dark Vampress for unintentionally convincing me to finish the story.**

**Please enjoy and make sure to read the author's note at the very bottom. ITS VERY IMPORTANT!**

**Disclaimer: ****for the hundred billionth time, I DON'T OWN NARUTO! Keo and Salina are mine, your welcome to use them if you want AND if you ask me. Magneria is the property of silver-nightstorm.**

**.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.**

"Okay Tobi, we're outta hear…hn."

Salina was broken from her reverie when she heard Deidara open one of the largest windows.

"What are you doing?" she asked, unraveling the chords that remained around her ankles.

"Saving your life, now hurry up, we don't have much time…yeah."

Salina stood up, blood rushing to her head and making her stumble. The blonde steadied her impatiently before snatching her roughly and hiding her under his black cloak.

A split second later, they were moving. Salina had no idea where they were going, but she figured it was better than the imminent death she had just left behind. She thought of Keo and released a deep breath. At least there was a slightly larger chance of her not dying right after they got together.

A thin shaft of light flashed briefly through the opening in Deidara's cloak, allowing Salina to see the seal that was still on her wrist. She automatically moved to tear it off, but a shock went through her when her fingers brushed the edge of it. She bit her lip to hold back a cry of shock in case any noise from her would give them away.

**.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.**

Sakura paced back in forth in the library anxiously, glancing at the clock every few seconds.

"D-Don't worry Sakura-chan," Hinata said soothingly, "I'm sure that they'll s-save Salina and b-back in no t-time."

"Why did Keo even go? He's just a human like us, isn't he? And Magneria?" Sakura said crossly, venting her worries in any possible outlet.

"He w-was trained as a h-hunter for y-years and Magneria is a werewolf," Hinata informed her before adding, "They'll be f-fine."

The pink-haired girl met her friend's white eyes and sighed, "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Neither of the two said anything as they sat beside each other, staring at the blazing sun, sinking below the horizon, reminding them too easily of an hourglass with the sand running out.

Moments later, the double doors of the library burst open and the two whipped around eagerly. But instead of triumphant smiles and cheers, they were greeted by malicious grins. Two figures loomed in the doorway. One had a shock of bloody red hair and brown eyes that held a bored glaze while the other was freakishly tall, with either side of his face being a different color and what appeared to be a Venus fly trap on his head. Both were sheathed in long black cloaks splattered with red clouds.

"Who are you?" Sakura asked warily, grabbing Hinata by the arm and pulling her back, preparing to make a break for it.

"Naruto-kun told me about them," The dark haired girl answered for them, "The one w-with the red hair is Sasori and the g-green one is Z-Zetsu."

"Enough pleasantries," Sasori commented dryly, "Come with us; I don't like to be kept waiting."

In a flash, Zetsu was in front of the two girls, grabbing Sakura by the arms. His long fingers hadn't even coiled around her arms when he bellowed in agony. The jewel on Sakura's charm bracelet seemed to be giving off a sort of strange glow.

Instead of simply letting Sakura go, which didn't seem like something this horrifying creature in front of her would do, Zetsu hurled Sakura into the closest bookcase. She slammed into it and then into the ground. Books clattered around her and Sakura saw that the impact had shattered the small red gem on her wrist that had been her only protection.

The huge green demon was drawing nearer and Sakura's mind couldn't decide on a specific plan of action. Run and get caught, fight back and be killed. Nothing had a desirable outcome.

Zetsu was raising his hand for another blow. Sakura squeezed her eyes shut, silently wishing all of her friends goodbye.

But the impact never came.

The cherry blossom pried her eyes open and gaped in horror. Right in front of her, Hinata stood, slumped over. Zetsu pulled his arm back and watched stoically as the petite girl collapsed, hitting the ground with a dull thud. Sakura was vaguely reminded of the dead animal Sasuke had dropped when she discovered that he was a vampire.

Any thought of the two monsters in the library vanished as Sakura turned Hinata on her back. A huge bloody hole had been punched through her stomach and blood was seeping everywhere, through Hinata's clothes, onto the floor, Sakura's hands…

The pale, white eyed girl was already turning cold. The tears began to slide down Sakura's face as she gently closed Hinata's blank eyes and wiped the splatters of blood from her smooth, perfect face.

Hot tears came in a rush now, and Sakura was powerless to stop them. She buried her face in her friend's shoulder. Her dark, lifeless hair brushed at Sakura's forehead and all she could think was _why_. Why did Hinata have to jump in front of her? Why did she have to die?

"This has gone on long enough. Itachi will be annoyed if we don't bring her back soon," Sasori stated dully.

In the next second, the red haired man pulled Sakura up by her hair. She didn't look at him, instead she fixed her eyes on the empty shell of her friend as Sasori's fist sunk into her abdomen, drowning her in unconsciousness.

**.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.**

"We should be safe at this distance," Deidara said in a hushed tone.

He unbuttoned his cloak and allowed Salina to step back. As she did so, the young girl inadvertently brushed the seal on her wrist and yelped in pain when the shock raced through her. Deidara, nonplussed, stared at her for a moment before noticing the seal.

"Here," He said, holding her arm out with one hand and pulling out a small vial with the other, "This is dragon's blood…yeah."

Without another word, he popped the cork out of the vial and poured a few drops of the dense red liquid directly on the seal. The thin paper began to smoke where the blood hit it and then burned away completely, as if it had never been there in the first place.

"Thank you," The young girl replied, holding her newly freed wrist and smiling gratefully.

A peculiar silence began to stretch between them, which was closed by a rushing of leaves from the surrounding trees. A second later, Sasuke, Naruto, Magneria, Keo, and Skye stepped into the clearing.

"Salina! You're alright!" Magneria shouted, running up and hugging the old friend she thought she had lost.

Salina blinked, confused by her presence before hugging the shorter girl back. Skye and Naruto soon did the same thing. Once they released her, Salina turned to find Keo and launched herself into his arms. He welcomed her openly, clutching her tightly against him and kissing her shoulder once.

"Deidara… What are you doing here?" Sasuke demanded coldly, breaking up the reunion.

"Relax," The blonde replied, "I'm not here to fight you. Tobi and I were the ones who broke Salina out of that hellhole…yeah."

The assembled group looked at Salina, who was clutching Keo's hand tightly, and relaxed some when she nodded in confirmation.

Skye appeared in front of Deidara then, her arms around his neck.

"Thank you," She whispered, finding his lips with hers briefly.

"Happy to help…hn"

"Turned traitor, have you Deidara? Itachi will be interested to hear this."

Attention suddenly spun to Sasori, who was standing on a tree branch with Sakura limp in his arms and Zetsu looming beside him.

At the sight of the pink-haired girl, the tension in the air electrified. Sasuke's eyes turned red and his fangs elongated, a red aura began to emanate from Naruto's skin and his claws and teeth grew, and Magneria bent over, allowing her human form to melt away, revealing her wolf form.

"Give her back, now," Sasuke's voice had a dangerous resonance to it as he spoke.

However, this had no effect on Sasori, who seemed amused before he disappeared with Sakura in a gust of wind.

Sasuke let loose a feral growl and pursued an instant later. Before anyone else could do the same, Zetsu jumped down into their path.

"You'll have to go through me first."

**.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.**

Sakura awoke to find herself in a high backed chair in front of a long dining table, a voice speaking behind her.

"Really? I guess it was inevitable either way. No matter, he'll just have to die with the rest of them. All of you go take care of those pests. I have my own business here."

Itachi.

A rush of wind passed her as a group of figures whirled through an open window. It was dark now, the full moon was rising.

Sakura desperately wished that the pests Itachi had mentioned weren't her friends.

"I see you're awake. Then I see no point in delaying this any longer."

Icy hands clamped down on Sakura's shoulders from behind and a scream caught in her throat. Her pink hair was brushed away from her neck and, without and warning, two sleek fangs sunk into her skin.

The scream in her throat came loose and escaped as a blood curdling shriek. This was nothing like Sasuke's bite. No pleasure, no ecstasy. Nothing but cold, venomous, hopelessness. It was as if her life were being sucked away and siphoned into Itachi's body. Sakura writhed in excruciation and grabbed at Itachi's head to break free, but he didn't even flinch.

There was a periodic pounding somewhere in the foggy distance, becoming louder and louder. Finally, the crescendo peaked and stopped abruptly. Sakura felt Itachi withdraw from her neck and release his grasp on her, causing her to slide off of the chair and down to the cold tile floor, heaving, trembling, and exhausted.

"Ah, little brother, I was beginning to wonder what had become of you."

"What the hell have you done to her?"

Sasuke's voice echoed in Sakura's mind, slowly bringing her back to a sound state of mind.

"I merely wished to share in the power she can grant our kind. Surely you didn't think that you could keep it all to yourself."

Itachi's voice was cold and smooth. A silver dagger plunged straight through one's very being.

"What are you planning?"

"Isn't it obvious little brother? The Council of Supernaturals is meeting as we speak. If I take them out, no one will be left to take charge but me."

"There is no way that I am going to let that happen," the younger Uchiha growled, taking on a fighting stance.

The elder of the two brothers smirked, "Then by all means, foolish little brother, try and stop me."

Sakura peeked around the chair just as Sasuke lunged for Itachi. The latter grabbed the first by the arm, swung him around, and threw him into the wall. Sakura heard a shattering noise and for the first time, dared to observe her surroundings.

She found that she was in a large dining room, presumably the one belonging to Salina's grandparents' mansion. The floor was tiled with checkered black and white marble. The ceiling was high, decorated by a painted mural and a large crystal chandelier. Opposite the large double doors was a monumental fireplace, decorated with intricate carvings and surrounded on either side by large windows that allowed the moonlight to seep through and bathe the room. On the remaining two walls were large mirrors mounted at least fifteen feet above the ground. The gleam of the moon and the blaze of the fire cast an eerie light throughout the rooms due to the chandelier crystals and the mirrors. One of which Sasuke had just collided with.

Still relatively delirious, Sakura pushed herself up into a feeble sitting position under the table. Before the pinkette could even move towards Sasuke to help him, he was back on his feet.

The fight progressed so quickly that Sakura could barely register any of it. She heard the impacts of the blows but she couldn't see the movements behind them. They were moving too rapidly. One second they were knocking down the chair she had been hiding behind and the next they were on the opposite side of the room. Sasuke managed a punch to Itachi's stomach, causing him to hunch over. He grabbed Itachi and launched him across the room. He slammed into the middle of the banquet table, breaking glasses and knocking over the table settings. Sakura barely managed to roll out from under the table before it collapsed. Sasuke noticed this and his red eyes widened.

"Sakura! Are you alright?"

Sakura rolled over onto all fours before staggering to her feet.

"Yeah, don't worry about me, I'm fi—"

Itachi had stood up again and clamped his hand around Sakura's neck, lifting her a foot off of the ground.

"Better be careful little brother. You don't know your own strength and you almost hurt dear Sakura-chan."

"Let her go. Now."

Sasuke's voice was infuriated and threatening, but his eyes were fixed helplessly on Sakura. One wrong step from him and Itachi would crush her in less than a heartbeat.

The glint in the elder brother's crimson eyes brightened. His grip on Sakura's neck tightened visibly and she grabbed at his wrist, desperately trying to break free. Just when Sakura felt like she was losing herself, Itachi pelted her across the room. She landed hard, bouncing once and sliding into the shattered glass left from the broken mirror.

Sasuke instinctively moved towards Sakura but Itachi seized him by the back of his shirt, pulling him back and slugging him across the face. He tumbled back and hit the ground hard. Sasuke was barely back on his feet when Itachi came back, hitting him consecutively before Sasuke could no longer stand. Despite the strength boost Sakura's blood gave him, Itachi had it too and was naturally stronger to begin with. Sasuke heard Sakura call his name from a distance and he picked his head up, meeting her terrified eyes. Suddenly, the urge to protect her overwhelmed his fatigue and he brought himself to his feet.

The brothers continued fighting more intensely than ever. The clashed in midair; the force pushed them back in opposite directions until they propelled themselves back at each other all over again. The fighting ensued until it came to a rapid, violent standstill.

Itachi had pounded Sasuke into the ground, pressing into Sasuke's back with one knee. One of Sasuke's arms was twisted behind his back and one of Itachi's hands was at Sasuke's throat, ready to pull back in just the right way so that it would snap.

The only thing flashing through Sakura's mind was the heart wrenching fact that Sasuke was about to die. There were no ideas of how to save him or what to do. Not even her subconscious was functioning. It was as if her limbs acted completely separately of her mind when she picked up a large shard of glass and slashed open her arm.

The instant the scent of Sakura's potent blood pierced the air, Itachi lost all control. He released Sasuke and lunged at Sakura, seizing her arm and sucking in the blood as if it were the only thing keeping him alive. He continued that way for a moment before he dropped her arm and stiffened. Falling back, he edged away from Sakura, hacking and clutching at his throat like there was a fire stuck inside of it.

"You bitch! What did you…" Itachi never finished his statement. He was overcome by a fit of choking before collapsing onto the cold tile, motionless.

Sakura and Sasuke stared at the empty remains of what was once Uchiha Itachi. Neither of them knew quite what to say, let alone what happened.

The silence dragged on until the large double doors burst open again, this time revealing the bruised and battered Naruto, Deidara, Tobi, Keo, Salina, Magneria, and Skye.

"Sorry for the hold up, you guys," Magneria chimed, "We would've gotten here faster because Tobi showed up at the last minute to help us, but then Naruto got us all lost in the woods, and whoa…"

The young girl trailed off when she registered the scene before her. Everyone was left to stare in awe.

Warily, Salina stepped forward and nudged Itachi's corpse with her foot. Unable to find the deadly blow, she looked over to Sakura, whose arm was still bleeding profusely.

"That book was right," She murmured, barely loud enough for the assembled group to hear, "Sakura's blood poisoned Itachi the second time he drank it."

Sasuke slowly took in this information before heaving himself off of the ground and making his way towards his dead brother.

"Naruto, gimme a hand here," he ordered.

The blonde fox demon complied immediately and together they picked up Itachi's body and threw it into the fire. His body went up in flames and strangely, was gone in almost an instant.

"That's the last we'll see of him," Sasuke sighed, letting his shoulders sag in relief.

"So what now?" Skye asked as she kneeled next to Sakura, using healing spells to close up Sakura's wounds.

Everyone looked at each other, not sure what to expect or what to say until out of the blue, Sakura gasped.

"Hinata!"

Every head in the room snapped to Sakura, who was starting to break out into sobs.

"What happened to Hinata?" Naruto asked urgently.

"Zetsu and Sasori! They killed her! She was trying to protect me," Sakura explained between sobs. The fact that she had temporarily forgotten about Hinata's death only made remembering it that much worse.

Without any sort of conference, everyone took off for the Uchiha Mansion. Once there, they rushed into the library and froze when they spotted the bloody remains Hinata.

An icy silence strangled the room into a deadlock. While most of the people in the room choked on their tears, Naruto moved forward lifelessly. Gingerly, he lifted Hinata out of the now cold puddle of her own blood and held her close, sobbing into her shoulder.

Shaking, Naruto pulled away to look at the face of his lost love. Tears fell freely from his face and landed on the gaping wound in Hinata's stomach. Everyone was too overwhelmed by grief to notice the peculiar way the moonlight flooding in from the windows was casting an eerie glow onto Hinata's flawless white skin and the tears Naruto was shedding. Very gradually, the light increased in intensity until it blinding everyone in the room. When the glow subsided and the cries of surprise died down, everyone was at a loss trying to explain the bizarre occurrence.

Out of some desperate, fleeting ghost of a hope, Naruto looked back down at Hinata. He was met with the shocking sight of Hinata's wound closing up and her snowy eyes fluttering open.

"N-Naruto?"

The blonde in question was frozen for a moment, before the joy broke onto his face and he crushed his lips to hers happily. Upon registering the new circumstances, everyone broke out into cheers. Skye, Salina, and Tobi tackled the couple, grinning and laughing uncontrollably.

"Does anyone have any idea what just happened?" Sakura asked in disbelief, trying to wipe away the tears that were now leaking out of her eyes due to happiness instead of misery.

Smiling to himself, Keo dug his hands into his pockets and told her, "There have been some researches and studies on the regenerative properties of demon tears, but so far they have been extremely inconclusive. It takes some very special circumstances for there to even be a slight possibility of working, let alone bringing someone back from the edge of death."

"So in short, a miracle," Magneria concluded.

"Basically," Keo said, one corner of his mouth lifting into a peculiar grin.

Suddenly, Salina jumped up to her feet and shouted enthusiastically, "All right! Time to celebrate! Peanut butter sandwiches all around!"

"What the hell is with you and peanut butter sandwiches?" Sakura asked, trying and failing to sound irritated as she leaned into Sasuke's side.

The young witch danced up and looped her arm around Keo's.

"Peanut butter sandwiches are to me what ramen is to Naruto," She explained gleefully.

"That's not true!" Naruto yelled, upset that his addiction to ramen was being challenged.

"You're right," Salina amended, much the amusement of everyone in the room, "I love them more than you love ramen."

"**THAT IS **_**DEFINITELY**_** NOT TRUE!"**

"Hey! Read the author's not below! Its about the epilogue/sequel!"

_END_

**.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.:o:.**

**Its finished! I have to say, I just couldn't bring myself to kill Hinata, she's just too sweet! Anyway, that pretty much concludes my story. HOWEVER! silver-nightstorm, the creator/person who requested I added Magneria to the story, had a different idea for the ending of this story. So this is my proposition! I don't have any ideas for an epilogue or sequel to this story. SOOOOOO, I am leaving it up to you people! Send me a review with your ideas and, since it will most likely be a long time if I decide to write either an epilogue or a sequel, tell me if you would be willing to write it! I will choose whoever I think will do best and delegate the writing to them. **

**In addition, there is also the version of the ending that silver-nightstorm imagined. Soooo, message/review telling me if you would like to write that version of the ending, an epilogue, or sequel using her ideas. If she tells me that she does not want to write any of them (I will not permit anyone to write using her version until I hear from her), I will delegate it to someone else, just like I am doing with my version of the ending.**

**I hope that wasn't too confusing and that you all loved the story (or at least tolerated reading it to the end). I love you all very much for sticking by me, even though I have no idea who any of you are =) And thank you to anyone and everyone who helped me work my way through this story/ inspired me to write. You rock!**

**Please review,**

**~seeking fireflies!**


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